Doppelgangers Among Us
by Thunderbyrd
Summary: When a troublesome mimic manages to escape from the bodega back room and causes double trouble around Lakewood Plaza, it's up to K.O., Rad, Enid, and the other Lakewood heroes to try and stop this menace before things really get out of hand.
1. Chapter 1: Fracas at the Frame Store

**It's odd how I can come up story ideas like this at 1 in the morning, huh?**

**In accordance with Cartoon Network **_**FINALLY**_ **airing OK K.O. again on their timeline, I felt another K.O. fanfic would help celebrate the show's glorious return to the airwaves once again! Anywho, this story is meant to take place somewhere in Season Two (at least before Enid's P.O.I.N.T. Prep arc), and is to be something of a pseudo-sequel to S1's "Do You Have Anymore In The Back?", starring a certain villainous creature from said episode acting as this story's main antagonist.**

**In addition, this story was originally planned as a single chapter story, but after realizing how much stuff I'm writing in this story, I simply decided to divide it in chapters instead. It's probably not going to be too, too many chapters though (probably four, kinda like my other OK K.O. stories "Fragaria Fighter" and "Highway to the Danger Zone") so either way, I hope you all still enjoy the story in the end.**

**Anyways, enough chitter-chatter, let's get on with the story already!**

**OK K.O! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun.)**

* * *

**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**CHAPTER ONE: A FRACAS AT THE FRAME OUTLET**

The full moon shone brightly over the sleepy area that was Lakewood Plaza Turbo that one crisp summer's night. The local stores and businesses have all closed down for the night, the lights around the parking lot have shut down, and there was nary a customer or a hero in sight. With only the lucid sounds of chirping crickets, hooting owls, and the occasional car passing by down the road, everything was peaceful and calm that starry night.

***CLANG! CLATTER!***

...well, mostly…

A loud, metallic clang resonated close by Mr. Gar's Bodega and Hero Supply, specifically coming from a small air vent that led to the back of the store. The grate cover on the vent began to rattle and clatter loudly and repeatedly, to the point where with one harsh bang, the cover was unhinged from the vent and fell to the ground with a dull clunk, leaving it open for anyone to enter.

Or in this case, open for someone to _exit_ from.

Something then managed to slither its way out of the vent, gasping hoarsely as it was able to free itself from the tight, cramped space of the air vent. Soon, now allowed to freely move around, the creature slunk stealthily through the shadows, emerging from behind the bodega while making his way to the front parking lot.

The pitch-black darkness of the plaza gave the unknown creature the perfect technique to not be easily spotted, the only light to be seen being the creature's bright-yellow eyes. Soon, the creature reached the front of the bodega and waddled its way in the middle of the barren parking lot. It growled with silent rage, its strikingly-yellow eyes shining brightly from within the night.

"Grrr, finally! For far too long have I been cooped up in that blasted corner store," the mysterious being hissed venomously by himself, "Stuck alone in some lousy stockroom to fend myself for scraps of food, fending off boredom every day and night…"

It looked all around the plaza. The stores were all empty and dark, and the parking lot and quads were barren of any heroes or other people to hang around in at such late hours. Everything at the moment was quiet.

The creature smirked devilishly. Its chance to cause mischief has finally began.

"Time to have a little bit of fun…" it snickered lowly. It then spotted a certain store a few feet away that caught its attention.

'iFrame Outlet', the sign read.

The creature smirked to itself. It slithered towards the store and using its malleable shape, it managed to squeeze itself through the locked door and began scanning the store's darkened interior. Picture frames, glass cases, and photographs were lined across the store walls as far as the eye could see.

The creature looked around for a while until it spotted a certain framed photo from across the way. A photo of a cape-wearing skeleton and a bear with a pink t-shirt on hung on the far end of the store, a small golden plaque underneath it reading "EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH". The creature's smirk grew into a devious grin.

Slinking towards the photo, the creature looked closely at the picture with deep interest. Its gaze was especially fixated upon the bear as it scanned the grizzly employee. The creature smirked giddily, it was time to put its plan into motion.

"Let's see how this accursed plaza handles a bit of..._double trouble_…" the creature sniggered vehemently.

And with that said, the mysterious creature began glowing white, its shapeable body beginning to change form as the room was engulfed in an especially bright, white light, its glow being the only thing to shine brightly within the quiet and dark plaza. Soon, the light went away and just like that, the plaza was silent and pitch black once again as the night wore on peacefully once again.

* * *

Early the next morning, as the sun shone brightly in the cloudly yellow sky, the heroes of Lakewood Plaza were all soon getting ready to start another day of hard work. The parking lot was now full of cars, the stores were now opened up for the general public, and many employees were all clocking in to their respective stores to begin work, while other Lakewood citizens were heading out for some shopping and time to hang out with others.

And as of now, nobody seemed to have seen or notice anything about the mysterious creature that was lurking around the plaza last night.

Soon enough, a familiar purple battle van tore into the parking lot, screeching to a halt close by Gar's Bodega. The door slid open, revealing three certain heroes to hop out of the vehicle and head out to the bodega they all worked at.

"Whelp, another day, another migraine…" Enid groaned out, stretching her still-tired limbs.

"Oof, you said it…" agreed Radicles, locking up his van just as K.O. happily bounded out from the back behind him.

K.O., Enid, and Rad had just returned from having an early and quick breakfast up at a local fast food joint and were both now ready to get started on another tiresome work day. While Rad and Enid were looking and feeling quite tired and unready for another hectic work day, K.O. was naturally the only one of the trio to have a bright, sunny grin on his face as he skipped away towards the bodega with his friends.

"It's a shame Mr. Gar had to go to that hero expo in Battleburg today," K.O. commented casually, "and that he won't be back until later this afternoon...he's gonna miss out on another fun day of work…" Enid raised an eyebrow at K.O.'s bizarrely out-of-nowhere statement and groaned softly.

"K.O., what did I say about speaking purely in exposition dialogue?" Enid asked sternly. K.O. blushed embarrassingly.

"W-What? I'm just saying that the boss is at an expo today!" defended the hero-in-training worriedly, "I just think it'll be kinda weird without Mr. Gar around for most of the day today!" Rad scoffed and smirked confidently.

"Eh, I don't mind either way…" waved off Rad, "So long as there's nothing bad to disrupt our work today, he could be at that expo for days for all I care…"

"Pssh, yeah, I agree…" smirked Enid, "Would be nice to not have him breathin' down our necks while we're doing our work. Now, we can all have a chance to relax a bit today!" Her comment was met with relieved agreements between Radicles and K.O. as they all approached the bodega to unlock the front doors and to get ready for work.

A green sedan was then seen parking close by as well, with the driver then closing the car door and ready to head over to his place of work. K.O. beamed brightly and waved 'hello' to this familiar plaza worker in his usual friendly and excited fashion.

"Morning, Brandon!" he called out happily. Enid and Rad also greeted him with silent, but friendly hand waves. Brandon noticed the trio and returned the friendly gesture, albeit with a loud and tired yawn.

"Ohhh...mornin', guys!" he replied back as the three bodega workers retreated into their store to begin work, leaving the bear to get ready to start his own shift at his own store.

As we all know, Brandon works at a picture-frame store with his best friend, Real Magic Skeleton, and unfortunately, Brandon wasn't really considered a hard worker by any other means. Normally, he'd spend his work hours sleeping, eating, lazing about, or practicing his drumming skills while RMS would do the more important work in his place, much to the skeletal sage's chagrin. But still, the two were firm and friendly bros through and through, regardless of their different work ethics.

Brandon soon reached the iFrame Outlet store and stepped inside, yawning all the while as he spotted Real Magic Skeleton at the main register, too distracted by reading a magazine to notice his best bud's arrival.

"*Yawn* Mornin', Magi…" Brandon greeted sleepily as he walked past RMS and headed towards the break room..

"Morning, Brandon…" RMS greeted back, before suddenly after hearing Brandon's voice, his pupils shrank and he gasped out in surprise.

"Whah...wait a min...Br-Br-_Brandon!?_" squawked RMS in disbelief.

"That's my name, don't wear it out…" replied Brandon with another yawn, unaware of RMS' sudden shock. The skeleton then high-jumped away from the register counter and landed in front of Brandon before the bear could retreat into the break room. Brandon reeled back in surprise upon seeing RMS spontaneously appear before him.

"GAHH! RMS, what the heck are ya doing!?" Brandon cried out.

"BRANDON-WHERE-THE-HECK-DID-YOU-COME-FROM-I THOUGHT-YOU-WERE-IN-THE-" RMS babbled crazily, his arms a-flailing as Brandon grabbed him by the shoulders, cutting off his sentence.

"Magi, Magi, calm down!" Brandon eased down RMS gently, the skeleton in question finally managing to calm himself down, even though he still looked quite rattled throughout.

"Brandon, why on Earth were you outside?" RMS asked more civilly, "You were just in Sir iFrame's office a few minutes ago!"

Brandon tilted his head in confusion and let go of his skeletal friend. "Dude, how could be in the boss' office already if I just got here? I haven't even clocked in yet!" Now it was RMS' turn to be greatly baffled by all this.

"B-B-But you were already here, dude!" he countered, "You've actually been here before _I_ was!"

Brandon snorted back a laugh and wrapped a friendly arm around RMS's shoulders. "Heh, please, Magi. When have _I_ ever been to work on time?" But still, RMS was too confused and shocked by this sudden occurrence to listen carefully.

"I'm serious, Brandon! A few minutes ago, you were helping to clean out the manager's office for him!" explained RMS. Unfortunately, Brandon simply rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Pssh, yeah, sure I did, RMS…" Brandon assured jokingly, his playful sarcasm not enough to quell poor RMS' frazzled emotions. But before either one of them could say or do anything more, another voice rang out from a nearby office room.

"Oh, Brandon, what a courteous offer for you to clean my office! My desk hasn't looked this clean in decades!"

"Aw, it was a pleasure, boss! No trouble at all!"

RMS and Brandon looked on in pure, unadulterated shock upon hearing those two voices, especially seeing as one of those voices turned out to be Brandon's own voice! Soon, stepping out of the office was Sir eFram iFrame, the picture-framed manager of the iFrame store and, much to the horror of the store's other two employees, also appeared Brandon himself!

A real-life, walking, talking second copy of Brandon that looked and sounded _exactly_ like the original Brandon!

Real Magic Skeleton and the original Brandon simply stood there, jaws hitting the floor in utter stupefaction and horror, too shocked to even try and attempt to speak as Sir iFrame simply kept singing the Brandon copy's praises for cleaning his office to notice the bizarre scenario that was going on now. However, it wasn't along until Sir iFrame noticed his other employees nearby and grinned.

"Ah, greetings, Real Magic Skeleton! Greetings, Brandon!" he smiled happily at his employees, giving the petrified duo a friendly wave.

At first, Sir iFrame was completely unaware of what was transpiring at the moment, but however after taking one look upon seeing a shell-shocked Brandon close by the register and then looking at the second Brandon right next to him, the wide grin on his face slowly twisted in realization from happiness to complete and total bewilderment and nervousness.

"Uhhhh…what, uh...what the bloody devil is going on here?" iFrame asked nervously to no one in particular, as beads of sweat began trickling down his body, thus leaving messy streaks on his artwork. RMS and Brandon still weren't able to answer back in shock, and even the second Brandon right beside Sir iFrame was beginning to look nervous and suspicious.

Seconds ticked by without a single word between the four before the original Brandon carefully, but bravely walked up to the Brandon copy, the latter beginning to sweat nervously from having this genuine version of the bear-themed hero strolling right up to him. Soon, the original Brandon was a few mere feet away from the copy's face.

The copy grimaced and reeled back in confusion as Brandon began studying the doppelganger's features up close. From the nose to his eyes and to his ears, this Brandon lookalike didn't seem anymore different than the O.G. Brandon! The bear in question was beside himself with hushed amazement, rather than being creeped out or baffled.

"Woah…" Brandon awed with the impressed stupor of a stoner, "it's like I'm lookin' in a mirror...radical…"

RMS gawked upon seeing his best friend seeming so nonchalant upon seeing an exact clone of himself _right in front of him!_ None of them knew what exactly this Brandon lookalike was or why it was here, so why was the real Brandon taking this so well!? Even Sir iFrame was at a loss for words upon watching this scene unfold as RMS tried gaining Brandon's attention.

"_Brandon, you big dummy, get away from that thing!_" the panicked RMS hissed quietly from afar, but still whispering loudly enough for Brandon to hear, "_Who knows who...or what that _thing _really is!?_" Brandon scoffed dismissively.

"Oh, please, Magi...what's the worst that could hap-"

But before Brandon could finish that self-assured comment, the worst actually _did_ happened...

Suddenly, the Brandon copy began changing its own skin color. The light brown and pink colors Brandon wore all turned into a bright shade of mauve, engulfing the entire body completely, skin and clothes and all. Then, the face began shifting from Brandon's own facial features into its own horrifying expression, being a jack-o'-lantern-esque face, complete with bright yellow eyes and a malicious, sharp-toothed grin.

RMS, Sir iFrame, and the original Brandon stared slack-jawed in sheer terror at the sight of the Brandon copy's unexpected transformation. And their dazed stupor was the perfect opportunity for the morphable creature to cause a bit of trouble.

It jumped away from the three workers, with RMS finally breaking away from his shock to notice what this odd being was doing.

"Hey! Wait right there!" he ordered, reaching out to grab the creature, but in the process of doing so, he accidently tripped on his cape, falling flat on the ground so hard that his skull popped from its socket and rolled about on the floor. The creature snickered as it landed away from the trio. RMS' head rolled close by the creature's foot, whom then picked up the skull and gave him a mischievous sneer, much to RMS' fright.

"Oh, _please_, you clumsy skeleton." it chortled with a raspy, devious voice, "You think you can try and handle a mimic? HA! Mimics are the most trickiest of all magical creatures! We can turn into anything we want in the blink of an eye!"

It then roughly tossed RMS' decapitated head straight at Sir iFrame's flat stomach (causing the poor picture frame to double over in pain) as it rubbed its hands together, giggling to itself.

"Observe!" Soon, the mimic changed from its Brandon-like shape into something completely different. Going from a humanoid form to something more industrial, RMS, Brandon, and Sir iFrame were both amazed and horrified to see the mimic now turn into a lawnmower!

And a rather nasty and demented-looking lawnmower at that!

With that done, the mimic's new form began to rev loudly. Flames spat out from the exhaust and the mimic began cackling like a psychopath. It's laughs only grew louder and more crazed as it drove all around the store at high speeds. It based against store shelves, knocked over items off of tables, smashed and ran over fallen picture frames, and shredded up any piece of paper or photograph on the ground. It even managed to literally drive on the walls as well, defying physics as it chewed away and ran over the two giant portraits of Real Magic Skeleton and Brandon hung up on one end of the store!

RMS and Brandon nearly choked on their own tongues from the sight of it all. Sir iFrame was most shocked and distraught indeed.

"MY STOCK! MY MERCHANDISE! MY SURPLUS!" Sir iFrame shrieked in terror, he was feeling very faint. By now, the mimic had managed to shred and smash up almost everything in the outlet store, leaving behind such a terrible mess.

RMS quickly managed to magically piece together his head back onto his body and growled in irritation. Gathering all his bravery, he decided to confront this mimic and get it to stop its reign of destruction.

He stepped out and glared down at the mimic, just as it began to drive down from the walls and ceiling and back on firm, flat ground again, still in its lawnmower form. The mimic noticed the skeleton boldly asserting himself in front of it and revved its engine threateningly. Fumes and flames roared from its engine block, but Real Magic Skeleton still didn't back down.

"Now, you listen here, you!" RMS stated as dominantly as he can be, snapping a finger right at the mimic, "You stop this mess _right now_, or I'll have to-"

***VROOOOOM!***

The mimic didn't bother to let RMS finish his spiel as it revved its engine once again, until it suddenly drove forwards, right in the path of RMS! And from the looks of it, the mimic wasn't planning on stopping. RMS quickly noticed the mimic's motive and let out a startled shriek, jumping up and into Brandon's arms before the mimic could run him over and shred him to bits.

After that narrow dodge, the mimic just continue to drive forward until it reached the store's front entrance, stopping for a quick moment to give the group one last, little taunt.

"Toodle-loo, punks! It's been a _ripping_ good time, but I've got a whole plaza to terrorize now!" it vowed, cackling and then roaring back out of the store until the sound of laughter and a vrooming engine soon faded away in the distance. Dust and smoke from its engine kicked up everywhere.

By now, the mimic had left the scene and was now running loose elsewhere in Lakewood Plaza Turbo. Sir iFrame, Brandon, and Real Magic Skeleton was all left behind, too frozen in fear to speak and too horrified to know what actually just happened. A couple of seconds ticked away until Brandon finally broke the tense silence.

"B-Bro? ...W-Was I trippin' or d-did you see what I s-saw?" Brandon asked feebly to his best friend. RMS gave him a spaced-out and numb nod.

"I think we _both_ saw what just happened, dude…" he replied timidly, "That thing we just saw was a mimic…"

Brandon shivered in confusion. "A mimic!? Wh-Why the heck would one be here at Lakewood!?" he proclaimed. RMS frowned deeply.

"I'm not sure, Brandon…" he admitted, "but with that thing having just tore up our store in a mere minute, who knows what it'll do to an entire shopping plaza?"

Just then, RMS' statement hit both of the two heroes like an incoming freight train. They both knew mimics were devious, fast-footed, and sneaky creatures, even when they weren't using their transformation abilities. On top of that, this particular mimic seems to be quite violent in his actions, so it wouldn't just be the plaza that's in danger, it would also be the heroes, workers, and innocent bystanders who go to this plaza that'd also be in danger as well!

RMS and Brandon shuddered and looked back at each other. One quick look into each other's eyes was enough to prove that they may need some extra assistance in successfully catching this mimic before more trouble can befall upon Lakewood Plaza. They had to warn somebody or at least get some extra help to fight or capture this mimic.

And of course, they knew the three heroes that may help them out as they both booked it straight out the front door.

"RAD! ENID! K.O.! WE NEED HELP!" They both hollered out desperately. But just as they left, RMS realized they were leaving behind a cluttered and half-destroyed store and their stunned, confused boss in their wake. He quickly poked his head back in the store and sheepishly gave Sir iFrame a shy smile.

"Uh, d-don't worry, boss! We'll help clean up the mess later! P-Promise!" he assured quickly before chasing after Brandon, their destination being Gar's Bodega. "_Brandon! Wait for me!_" he called out, giving chase once more.

Sir iFrame, meanwhile, was too beside himself with complete and total dread. His store and supplies was an utter wreck thanks to a troublesome mimic and he wasn't sure what to do, especially now that his two and only employees had now just galavanted off to stop this creature. Now, the iFrame Outlet was quiet, mostly empty, and rather messy, leaving only a flustered store manager in its wake.

All the poor picture-framed man could do was stare silently, hopelessly and frightfully off into space...

***CLUNK!***

...until he fell flat down right on the ground on his back and immediately slipped into unconsciousness, too dazed to even comprehend on what just happened.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

**Whelp, there's the first chapter for ya. Basically, I'm hoping to make this fic as a way to incorporate other heroes into trying to fight this mimic instead of it just being K.O., Enid, and Rad. RMS and Brandon will be joining the trio throughout the story and so will a few more other heroes along the way to help stop this mimic!**

**Since I've written a great chunk of this story as a massive one-off, expect Chapter Two arrive in a couple of days, so keep your eyes peeled for that! Thanks for reading and let's all try and keep supporting OK K.O. so that CN can still air it again! :D**

**~Thunderbyrd**


	2. Chapter 2: Bedlam at the Bodega

**In response to a guest review from the last chapter:** _**It's honest to God funny that you mention an Elodie / Ghoul School story, because I actually have an OK K.O. story planned with sorta something like that. The story is a multi-chapter humor fic that does star Enid and her Ghoul School friends, and at some point, there will be an appearance by Elodie, but it'll really only last for one chapter. It will include Enid introducing Elodie to her old Ghoul School friends though, so that should be akin to what you'd like to see! :D**_

_**Unfortunately, this story is to act as my own OK K.O. Halloween special so I won't be able to post it until September at some point, so I sincerely apologize if you have to wait four or five months to see it… :,(**_

**Anywho, just like I promised, Chapter Two is here, albeit a bit later than I hoped (sorry…)! Now, let's go see how our favorite bodega trio will react to and handle having a mimic roaming around the plaza!**

**OK K.O! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun.)**

* * *

**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**CHAPTER TWO: BEDLAM AT THE BODEGA**

It was a fairly boring day at Gar's Bodega. Hardly any customers had bothered to shop around, and with Mr. Gar out throughout most of the day, that meant that Enid, Rad, and K.O. could freely do whatever they wanted until then. Sure, it may not really be productive or efficient to spend this time slacking off, even with their boss not present as of yet, but the trio of heroes didn't really care too much. They all needed a break from work and fighting evil-doers after for so long.

And with the store having been empty for a while, what better way than to simply kick back until it's actually time to do some work?

Enid was lazily resting upon her signature spot on the cash register, her cool sunglasses covering her eyes as Radicles was off to the side, flexing and taking selfies to post on his Social Media account. K.O., on the other hand, was simply dusting the store floors with a broom close by, personally feeling it best to try and do some sort of work instead of lazing about. His two teen friends didn't seem to mind; they knew their best friend / little brother figure always loved to be as helpful as he could, whether during their job or when fighting a villain.

Yep, everything seemed to going alright for our heroes today…

***BING-BONG!***

"_GUYS, HELP US!_"

...until a certain skeleton-and-bear duo came charging through the bodega doors, both screaming and frantically crying out for help right before the bodega trio. Enid gasped and stumbled out from her spot on the register, Rad nearly dropped his phone out of fright, and poor K.O. tripped over his broom and fell back on his butt.

Enid shook her head and groaned on the floor, looking up to see a weary and traumatized Real Magic Skeleton and Brandon above her. She frowned and took off her shades, giving the two an unamused look.

"May we help you gentlemen?" she snarked, not in the mood for games. RMS' teeth chattered and he rocked back and forth in place. Clearly, he was taking this occurrence quite harshly.

"Th-Th-Th-Th-There's a-a-a-a-a m-m-m-m-m-m-" he stuttered out uncontrollably, too paralyzed with fear to get a word out in edgewise. Luckily, Brandon was there to sum up their situation in one, loud, jumbled-up sentence.

"WE-JUST-CAME-ACROSS-A-MIMIC!" he screeched out, hugging himself all the while. His reaction was met with confused and odd looks from the three heroes before him. They all stood there silently before Rad broke the ice.

"You saw...a mimic?" he repeated slowly back, trying to see if he heard that correctly. RMS shuddered and nodded in return.

"He was just in the iFrame Outlet store!" the skeleton explained in a squeaky voice, "He nearly turned the store upside-down until it escaped! Now we don't know where it may have gotten to!" Enid simply gave the two bros a skeptical frown.

"Guys, I'm pretty sure it couldn't have been a mimic. Maybe somebody was playing a prank on ya both?" she assured logically. She then let out a yelp as Brandon shot up and gave her a crazed look in the eyes, his face mere inches away from her's.

"THAT THING WAS STRAIGHT UP WALKING AROUND LOOKING LIKE ME, ENID! I KNOW WHAT I SAW!" Brandon declared, his sanity and grip on reality slipping by every nanosecond. Enid rolled her eyes and pushed the neurotic Brandon away from her space. Rad then stepped up to put his two cents into the mix.

"Guys, calm down!" he ordered, "Look, even if it _was_ a mimic, then why the heck would a mimic even be at the plaza in the first place? Last I checked, those guys prefer to live in dark, closed places, not open areas like here."

K.O., meanwhile, couldn't help but to think. Somehow, the name of this creature was beginning to ring a bell in his mind. "Mimics? What a dang minute...Enid, Rad, remember that time when we all went into the back room here in the store, trying to find that shaving cream stuff for Fish Dude?" The two teens raised their eyebrows at K.O.'s question.

"Yeah? Why?" asked Enid with a shrug.

"Well, when Rad was leading us around, we did manage to come across a mimic that was dressed up just like him!" K.O. explained, "maybe this mimic could the same one we fought with months ago?" Rad and Enid pondered with thought; perhaps an assumption like that may be not _too_ farfetched after all.

"Possibly...the bodega stockroom _is_ a dark, damp place. Plus, we all _did _come across one or two of 'em last time…" Enid mused, piecing together the clues quickly. RMS and Brandon, in the meantime, looked more incredulous than assured.

"You're meaning to tell us that that mimic came from _here!?_" gasped Brandon as RMS suddenly clung to him, shivering like a leaf. They couldn't believe any of this! Radicles groaned and gave the two a sharp look.

"Hey, how were we supposed to know a mimic would escape from our stockroom? That place is like a maze, man!" he snapped defensively.

"Well, either way, it's now on the loose around the plaza and we don't know how to stop it!" RMS cried out, still looking horrified from all of this. Enid rolled her eyes and stepped up between Rad and the iFrame Outlet guys before a possible fight might may occur.

"Guys, calm down! Look, it'll be fine! We all just gotta chill and we'll all work together to find this mimic and we'll settle with it properly!" eased Enid, speaking as logically as she could. She then turned towards RMS and Brandon and gave them a serious look.

"Do you two know where it might've gone?" she asked them. The two friends shook their head fearfully.

"No, it just made a mess of the store and then it turned into a lawnmower and drove away!" replied RMS gravelly. Enid nodded in understanding and sighed softly.

"Okay, well, don't worry. We'll all help you guys." she promised, "I'm sure we can capture this thing and bring it to justice!"

Radicles looked baffled and uncertain over Enid's assurance. "Yeah, but how, Enid? The last time us three fought a mimic, we nearly got killed in the process!" Enid frowned in thought.

"Well, we all just need to come up with a good plan is all! Does anyone have anything that might work?" she asked towards the others.

Unfortunately, K.O., Rad, Real Magic Skeleton, and Brandon all seemed to be drawing blanks, and even Enid herself was completely stumped on how to come up with a capture plan as well, but the group still weren't planning on giving up just yet as they all continued to think of what they can do to stop a mimic.

While all that was happening however, none of them had even bothered to notice a mysterious figure lurking around behind the doors that led from the bodega's main store section to the back room. The figure slunk around and carefully watched Enid, K.O., Rad, Brandon, and RMS through the window without being noticed and began grinning evilly.

The figure then spotted something close by on the wall next to the door. It was a picture of the same three bodega workers, plus a burly, shirtless man in sunglasses, all smiling happily in the photo without a care. The mysterious intruder growled and shivered with rage. Looking back between the bodega trio outside of the door and back towards the photo of them, the creature seethed angrily and kept its yellow eyes on the photo for a while as the teens outside continued discussing their plan.

Its sights seemed especially glued towards Mr. Gar though and soon, the creature slowly began to morph its own shape once more, ready to continue its own agenda as planned.

Back outside, the five heroes resumed their brainstorming session for a while, all blissfully unaware of their suspicious, unknown guest close by.

"Maybe we can get a real, big net to catch it!?" offered K.O. excitedly. Rad shook his head negatively.

"Won't work, squirt. That mimic's would probably just turn into a pair of scissors to cut itself free…" he reminded, causing K.O. to deflate upsettingly. Enid growled tiredly; none of them seemed to have any sort of plausible plan to try and stop this mimic from potentially tearing up the plaza!

"Ugh, if only Gar was here, he'd know what to do!" she griped in annoyance, hating how a villain like this would show up just as their high-levelled boss would conveniently wind up leaving town for the day.

But just then...

"_Ahem!_"

The small group of heroes turned their heads around to see a familiar muscular hero standing behind them, having just exited through the back room doors.

It was Mr. Gar, standing proudly and stoically before the young heroes! Everyone in the store looked so surprised to see Mr. Gar back so soon, especially his own employees. Amongst the small crowd, K.O. was the only one who smiled with delight.

"Mr. Gar, you're back!" he cheered with a big smile. Radicles grimaced and slumped his broad shoulders; so much for a relaxing day without his boss. Enid, who was thinking more logically about the situation they were stuck in, was actually glad to see their boss show up during their time of need.

"Mr. Gar! Oh, thank Cob you're back already! Look, we all got a major problem going on here right now!" Enid explained. Mr. Gar, who has simply been oddly silent and still since his sudden arrival, looked down upon the heroes. An ominous glint shown in his sunglass-covered eyes as he then produced a hauntingly-eerie smile.

"Oh...there's trouble all right…" he answered back with a low, almost-menacing voice. And what happened next, nobody would've expected to ever occur in their lives!

One second ago, everything seemed normal, but then, everything fell into absolute chaos as Enid suddenly found herself roughly smacked aside by Mr. Gar's beefy arm! Enid, who was frozen with shock, simply fell on the ground with a harsh slam, clutching her side painfully. The rest of her horrified friends gasped in terror!

Enid could barely process what had happened at the moment; she could only see her own boss looming above, cackling maliciously. She had the gall to ask what the heck he did that for, but while Gar continued to chortle above her, something made her stay silent and still. Mr. Gar's laughter sounded more high-pitched and croaky rather than big and booming like it usually sounded, and even so, Gar usually wasn't the one to laugh (at least, not as much as she and her friends). Something just didn't sit right with this Mr. Gar…

However, before she can piece together what was going on, the rest of her friends boldly decided to confront 'Gar' for his sudden actions, with Radicles voicing off his disgust firstly.

"Yo, boss, what the heck was that all about!?" Rad barked, balling up his fists in retaliation. 'Mr. Gar' snapped his head towards Rad and gave him such a deadly glare that even the brash, blue alien slowly stepped away in intimidation.

'Mr. Gar' quickly grabbed a nearby wooden foot stool and, without any warning, he furiously tossed it towards Rad! Poor Rad was too slow to react quick enough and soon, with a splintering _CRASH_, the stool collided with Rad's abs and exploded into smithereens. Wood chips and splinters flew everywhere upon impact, and Rad wound up stumbling backwards, crashing into a stunned RMS and Brandon, causing them both to fall backwards on the floor.

Rad groaned weakly. The collision between his chest and the stool had knocked the wind out of him, leaving him with slightly-bruised abs and a mildly scuffed-up crop top. Brandon and RMS groaned painfully as well, both still stuck under Radicles' hulking body mass.

Poor, traumatized, little K.O. nearly fainted on the spot! Why the heck is their own boss attacking them like this!? Is this supposed to be some sort of weird training session or something!? Something _really_ didn't seem right at all! But still, K.O. knew something must be done before Mr. Gar would do something else that might hurt somebody else before it was too late!

He had to follow his heart, like a true, upstanding hero would!

Slowly, but surely, he gathered all his bravery to walk up to 'Mr. Gar', giving him such a deep, disapproving frown, not for the sake of making himself look important, but to show that he was _really_ not happy with his boss' brash behavior right now. Nobody hurts his friends like this, not even his own boss!

He did his best to give 'Gar' his most sternest expression ever, though it didn't seem to do much as his boss simply glared menacingly down upon the boy, unfaltering to K.O.'s resisting stance. K.O. felt a freezing sensation shiver up his spine upon seeing his boss coldly and expressionlessly stare him down, especially since he is practically the size a mountain compared to him, but he still wasn't going to back down either way. He took in the deepest breath ever taken and tried glaring down 'Mr. Gar' as well.

"Mr. Gar..." he boldly spoke up, "what you are doing is absolutely wrong! I suggest you stop this mess at once or-EEP!"

Unfortunately, 'Gar' hadn't cared to listen to what K.O. was trying to convey as the boy was forcefully and unexpectedly grabbed by the collar of his work vest and was lifted high in the air by the strong grip of his manager. Then, the seething 'Mr. Gar' spun around in place with K.O. still within his grasp. K.O. yelled frightfully, his eyes welling up with scared tears as his friends sat in the sidelines, all paralyzed with shock upon such an act being done before them.

They hadn't the chance to intervene quick enough as 'Gar' had finally charged up his winding shot and straight up threw K.O. across the store. K.O. screamed and cried for help, unable to save himself while mid-air until...

***CRASH!*** ***CLATTER!*** "_OWIE!_"

...he wound up colliding right into a tall, carefully-stacked pyramid of vegetable cans set up close by the store exit! Cans toppled and bounced everywhere, burying the stunned and pained K.O. instantly. The pitiful sounds of a groaning, upset boy stuck underneath a pile of grocery items was just enough for Enid and Rad to furiously glare at the cackling behemoth that was supposedly their boss before them.

They had no idea what the heck Gar's deal was right now, but regardless, no one and I mean, absolutely _**no one**_ had the right to pummel K.O. like that! Not their little brother!

Enid tried her best to soldier through her pain to stand up, ready to give 'Mr. Gar' a piece of her own mind until suddenly…

***WHOOSH!*** ***BANG!*** "What the? HEY!"

A shiny beam of purple energy was seen surrounding 'Mr. Gar'. 'Gar' tried to escape out this oddly-strong hold, but it was no use! Enid blinked in confusion until he saw that said beam was being shot out from somewhere. Turning her head to her left, she gasped surprisingly as she saw Radicles using his telekinesis powers to try and stop 'Mr. Gar' from causing anymore harm.

Rad's knees were shaky and weak, his breathing was labored, and he was now sporting a decent-sized bruise under his pecs from when 'Gar' threw that stool straight at him. He was still feeling weakened from 'Gar' attacking him like that, but he was still marshalling enough strength to pull himself together to protect his friends. He too even managed to give 'Gar' the stink eye as he kept the muscular manager within his telekinetic grasp.

"Leave...K.O. and...my friends...out of...this!" Rad croaked out defiantly, his shortness of breath cutting in between his warning statement. 'Mr. Gar', however, looked more considerably ticked than intimidated.

Not wanting to be held down again, 'Gar' brought his right arm forward, and to everyone's horror, the arm extended like a piece of taffy, aimed right towards Radicles!

The extended hand suddenly managed to get a strong, tight grip around Rad's neck, as not to let him go. Rad had no way of seeing this coming, so much so that he deactivated his telekinesis while his so-called 'boss' began practically strangling him. Enid, K.O., and the iFrame bros simply sat aside in their respective spots on the ground, frozen with terror as 'Gar' retracted his elastic-like arm so that Rad can be lifted right up to his face.

Rad shuddered frightfully and tried to speak, but he was too choked up and seized with pain to muster up a single noise, let alone a whole sentence. He simply wriggled about mid-air within 'Gar's' grasp, unable to free himself as his 'boss' began to speak towards him.

In a voice that sounded raspy, haunting, and vengeful instead of being bold, deep, or proud.

"_I should've ended you and your pesky friends in the stockroom as planned…_" the voice lowly snarled, huffing hot breaths into Rad's contorted face.

Radicles was too stricken with shock and fear to process anything after that, as suddenly, 'Mr. Gar's' body began to change color. The shades of tan, brown, pink, and slate blue were all now evaporated and replaced with bright magenta, along with 'Gar's' face, which was now taken in the place of two angry, yellow eyes and a spiky grin.

Everyone recoiled and shrieked upon seeing this creature reveal its true colors there on the spot, though still with Mr. Gar's initial body mold!

"It's the mimic!" Enid gasped out horrifically. RMS and Brandon really were being serious after all! And from afar in the store, Brandon was making sure his confirmations were rightfully sound.

"SEE!? I TOLD YOU SO!" Brandon cried defiantly, too busy cowering with RMS to care about anything else. Unfortunately, they was no time for arguing as just then, the mimic

Enid had to save her friend before disaster struck, so then, fighting away her pain like it was nothing, she gathered all of her spare energy and charged towards

"Let's pluck out those pretty little antennas of yours, shall we?" it snickered giddily, happily taking in the sight of Rad turning purple in the face from lack of oxygen when just then...

"HEY, JERK!"

"What the-_OOF!_"

Everything seemed to be nothing but a blur between everyone in the bodega. Just a second ago, the mimic was just about to skewer Rad until it unexpectedly found itself toppling aside, having just taken a power kick move right in the stomach. Enid growled furiously at it kicked the mimic there on the spot, her right foot aflare with her signature battle move.

The mimic fell to the ground with a harsh thud and Rad was then flung aside from the impact, landing nearby the area where the distressed and disturbed K.O. was still stuck at. The poor alien teen coughed hoarsely as his female friend angrily glare down at the fallen shapeshifter with utter disdain. She walked up towards it and promptly stomped her boot right on the mimic's chest forcefully.

The mimic groaned in pain, looking up to see a thoroughly-_pissed_ Enid loom above it threateningly.

"You think you can just waltz in here dressed up like our boss, only to attack me and my best friends!?" she began silently and menacingly, "You thought wrong, buster...nobody messes with my friends…"

The word "friends" seemed to have struck a chord in the mimic as it began writhing and snarling on the ground, giving Enid a rather barbaric expression.

"Is that so, missy?" it sneered, trying to match Enid's own cross-looking face, "Well...let's see you and your precious friends try and catch me first…" Enid scoffed at the mimic's vow.

"Pfft, in case ya didn't know, dummy, I've already just caught yooooOOOOOU!"

Enid suddenly found herself propelled in the air, having just been kicked away as the mimic forcefully pushed himself forward to get Enid's foot off of him, before it jumped away and clear out of Enid's range. Enid was soon brought back down to Earth, quite literally as she fell flat on her stomach upon the bodega floor, now with a free mimic cackling above her. Enid growled from her spot on the floor and shook her fist at the creature.

"Stay still, freak, so I can catch ya!" she snapped balefully, only to get a high-pitched snigger as a response instead.

"You'll have to catch me first!" mocked the mimic playfully. This mimic seemed to really love chases, especially when it came to chasing pathetic heroes.

With that, the mimic changed its body again into that of a roadrunner and began sticking its tongue at Enid playfully.

"Meep, meep!" it teased, and before Enid or anyone could catch it, the mimic sped away in its new, speedy form and dashed straight out of the store at blazing speeds!

Wind gusted all around from inside the bodega due to the mimic's quick exit, causing both K.O. and Rad to stumble right out of the store from how forceful the winds really were. They both wailed in fright and the doors closed behind them as they tumbled about outside and landed face-first on the ground.

RMS and Brandon clung to each other as not to get blown away in the process, but unfortunately Enid wasn't so lucky herself. She tried her best to stay on the ground, crawling up and clinging to the register counter with all her might as not to get carried away.

But then...it happened.

The winds were just too strong, so much so that the force of the winds were enough to cause something to Enid that RMS and Brandon both weren't expecting by a long shot.

The winds had been enough to _literally _blow Enid's head off!

As the winds finally and completely died down, poor Real Magic Skeleton and Brandon could simply stare in pure disturbance and fright upon seeing Enid's actual head blown clean of her body! However, as they gawked at the dead-eyed, bloodless head below their feet, they both looked up and saw something that well and truly shocked the two bros beyond disbelief!

Standing before the two certainly was someone who did look like Enid. It had Enid's body, sure, but instead of a human head, it was that of a bunny rabbit's head, complete with mauve-colored fur, buck teeth, whiskers, and long, floppy ears! Brandon and RMS gawked and failed to find words to describe how their feeling, only managing to utter stutters and squeaks instead.

Enid, stuck in her were-bunny form ever since she and her friends were bitten by Crinkly Wrinkly, just stood there in stunned silence, her eyes wide and her nose twitching like mad. She then grabbed her familiar, helmet-like human head and quickly stuck in back on over her rabbit head without another word. Soon, Enid looked back to her normal human self again, as if nothing happened!

RMS' eye twitched uncontrollably and Brandon felt his lower jaw unhinge from how low to the ground it was upon viewing that moment with their own eyes. Enid, fully aware of what occured, she sprucely marched up to the two ogling frame store workers and looked them straight in the eye, her irises blazing with utmost seriousness.

"_You two morons tell a single soul about what you saw and I'll personally disintegrate you both…_"

And with that quiet, yet ominous threat stated, RMS and Brandon simply nodded back dreadfully and soon, they and Enid all sprinted back outside in mere milliseconds to find where the mimic had gone off to.

Close by, K.O. and Rad were picking themselves back on their feet, brushing away any bruises. K.O. was doing his best to keep himself together after witnessing his boss try to murder him and his friends (despite that it really was a mimic in disguise) and Rad was heavily gasping for every molecule of oxygen he can inhale from being choked for so long.

K.O. shivered on the ground, looking up towards Enid with eyes so glazed with fear and sadness that even a cold-hearted cynic like Enid couldn't help but to feel scared and sorry for her little friend's sake. "E-E-Enid…?" K.O. asked pitifully, "Wh-What was that!?"

Enid sighed sadly and walked up to the cowering boy, kneeling down to give him a serious, but comforting look and tone. "Shh, buddy...it's okay...it's only a mimic, that thing wasn't Mr. Gar…" she assured gently, rubbing circles around his back.

K.O., however, didn't seemed too convinced with Enid's words. "B-B-But, it _looked_ like Mr. Gar…" he blubbered out, trying his hardest as not to cry.

"That's cause it's a mimic, K.O.. They always change their forms into anything that they can morph into; people, objects, animals, even us!" she explained softly, still doing her best to comfort her little brother figure. "It's okay, lil' bro...we'll all stop it…"

Radicles, having just managed to gain his composure enough to speak again, let out one last fit of coughs before addressing towards his ninja coworker with skepticism.

"And just how're we gonna do that, Enid?" he quizzed weakly, "That thing's gonna make short work out of all of us!" Enid groaned as she got back up on her feet, trying to keep the team's morale stabilized during such a stressing matter.

"We'll catch it somehow!" she retorted assuringly, "We just gotta keep all five our senses sharp and to proceed with caution. Now, has anybody seen where it might've run off to again?"

Nobody had the chance to answer Enid back when suddenly…

***SMASH!***

"AAHHHHH! HELP! HELP!"

The sound of a window getting smashed rang across the plaza parking lot, followed by a rather girlish scream crying for help! K.O. and his four friends gasped in horror.

"Where did that noise come from!?" cried out Brandon, still clutching to RMS out of fear.

K.O., now slowly getting over his little episode, held up his hand to his ear, trying to heighten his hearing senses as best and as precise as he can. Another frightened scream rang out again, still from the same direction. K.O. flinched and gasped. "I think I know where it came from!" he gasped, "Quick, guys! Follow me!"

Without questioning, Radicles, Brandon, Enid, and Real Magic Skeleton jogged behind K.O., following him towards the source of the noise. They passed by many stores and plenty of confused and worried plaza shoppers and workers until they all soon finally reached their supposed destination.

Standing before Logic Cuts, the plaza's own barbershop that was run by a former Boxman-built robot named Mr. Logic, the fivesome also noticed a decent-sized hole in the shop's front window, with bits of broken glass around the ground. Just as they were all about to investigate, then came another horrified shriek.

"AAAAHHHHH! GET THIS THING AWAY FROM ME!"

The five heroes recoiled from such a terrified reaction. Should that mimic be in there, they all knew they had to stop it before it really causes a heap of trouble! So without any questioning, the five burst right through the front door of Logic's Cuts and readied their fists and individual power moves, all ready for quite a brawl!

"Alright, you little bug! Step away from the-"

"NO! GET THOSE SCISSORS AWAY FROM ME!"

"Huh!?" Enid gasped, cutting off her own shouting to see what was going on before her own eyes.

The five heroes were pretty much expecting a mimic to be terrorizing people inside the robot-owned barbershop, but instead, all they found were Colewort fearfully crying and shouting from within his barber seat while Mr. Logic was patiently trying to carefully give him a haircut. Potato was also there, busily fussing about with Colewort as the broccoli-themed boy was having his bushy, flowery "hair" clipped.

"Colewort! _Please _calm down!" fretted Potato, trying to calm down her friend, "It's only a haircut!" But Colewort was too busy cowering to listen to her reasoning.

"I can't, Potato!" he wailed, tears streaming down his face, "I've seen what people use when they cut vegetables! All those knives and shears! IT'S ALL TOO SCARY, OKAY!?" Mr. Logic, ever the calm one, simply

"There's nothing to worry about, young Colewort! My hairdressing skills are statistically 100% correct so that there would be no trial and error when tending to a customer…" Mr. Logic smiled, busily preening all the while without a fuss.

***SNIP!*** ***PLOP!***

Unfortunately, during his ramblings, he wound up accidently snipping off a small, ingrown stalk from the side of Colewort's head, causing it to fumble on the ground. Colewort suddenly made a pathetic, yet honestly amusing noise that could only be described as a mixture of a sob and the sound of somebody getting strangled, with poor Potato still trying to soothe his frayed nerves. Mr. Logic winced and raised an eyebrow, looking down at the tiny stem of snipped broccoli below his feet.

"Better make that 99.5%..." he commented offhandedly. However, before any one of them could say or do anything else…

"Ahem!"

The three soon paused their little scene to find K.O., Rad, Enid, RMS, and Brandon standing in their lobby, all looking dumbfounded beyond belief. Mr. Logic gave them all a friendly grin.

"Ah, greetings, fellow Lakewood heroes! I trust today is going splendidly for you all?" he greeted happily, unaware of how floored the newcomers were right now. Enid's eye twitched once before she was able to piece together her sentence.

"I...we...uh...w-would somebody tell me what the ever-loving _heck_ is goin' on here!? Where's that lousy mimic!?" she demanded, looking around the shop with sharp eyes. Mr. Logic, Colewort, and Potato looked quite puzzled.

"Mimic?" queried Mr. Logic. Potato tilted her head sideways.

"Why would there be a mimic roaming around here?" she asked curiously. Rad then stepped forward.

"We think one must've escaped from the bodega's stock room!" he explained, his fists clenched with determination, "We heard a loud, girly scream coming from here so we all thought it must've snuck in here and attacked someone!"

Colewort's face went cherry red as he coughed awkwardly in his hand. "Uh, er, yeah, well...that scream kinda sorta came from me…"

The five heroes simply gave the broccoli boy an odd look. "From _you!?_" they all chorused in confused unison. Potato giggled nervously and decided to speak up for Colewort.

"Yeah, uh, Coley really doesn't like haircuts...so much so that he tends to get _really_ scared over being around anything sharp like scissors…" she explained as gently as she could. Colewort shuddered with fear from within his seat.

"They're just so sharp...like a kitchen knife…" he whispered in a soft, traumatized voice, as if he was going through a series of back-to-back Vietnam War flashbacks at the moment. However, K.O. still seemed confused.

"But then what broke that front window then?" he asked, pointing towards the gaping hole the window was producing. Mr. Logic cleared his throat.

"In his fit of irrational terror, Colewort wound up taking one of my razors from my hand and threw it straight at the window out of fear…" he explained. Colewort chuckled in embarrassment before sighing sadly afterwards. Enid pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled in exhaustion.

"Ugh, okay, so, where on Cob's green Earth could that thing be then?" she asked stressfully.

"Well, why don't you fools look behind you?" came an unexpected, teasing voice close by.

The bodega team, RMS, Brandon, Potato, Colewort, and Mr. Logic all suddenly turned around towards the barbershop front entrance to see the mimic loftily idling by the front door (still in its road runner form), smirking deviously at the group of heroes all before him. Enid gritted her teeth and raised her right leg, ready to use her power kick move.

"Stand still, ya goblin!" she ordered. Her leg glowed a bright shade of orange, and soon, she began firing away fiery blasts from her foot, all aimed for the mimic. The mimic, unfortunately, simply began weaving its malleable body around all of Enid's attacks, until it slinked around on the ground like a snake and headed straight for Mr. Logic table of hairdressing items.

Soon, the mimic sitting on the table rapidly took on another form of its own, this time as an electric razor! The mimic cackled nastily, the shears on its head buzzing violently like a giant, murderous hornet. Everyone gasped and yelped at the sight of the mimic's new shape. Enid growled and reared back her leg to charge up another power kick.

"I said, _stand still!_" she yelled, releasing another power blast from her foot once more. However, the power kick's trajectory was only slightly off as it hit the table instead, causing the mimic in its razor form to jump up, avoiding the blast altogether and getting ready to attack one of its victims down below with its shears.

Unfortunately, said victim turned out to be Colewort himself!

Poor Colewort was tackled to the floor by the mimic and began to loudly shriek and beg for mercy as the possessed razor went to town on his "hair". The other heroes could all only stand back and cringe at the sight of it all, just as K.O. decided enough was enough.

"Okay, you mean ol' mimic! Time to put you in your place!" shouted the little hero. And without warning, he jumped up in the air, ready to pounce on the mimic and keep it subdued for good. However, the mimic took notice of K.O.'s incoming presence and he zipped away from the battered and weary Colewort just in the nick of time. K.O. was caught by surprise, so much that he didn't prepare himself to stop himself before he landed right on Colewort with a harsh body slam.

The mimic then changed its body from a razor to that of a snake, quickly slithering its way underneath the heroes' feet and heading towards the front door. But before it could make its sweet escape, Radicles quickly managed to take his right foot and _stomped_ it firmly on the mimic's thin and cylindrical body. The mimic gasped out hoarsely, with Rad chuckling above him.

"HA! Thought you leave without saying good-_byyyyyeee!?_ OOF!"

Rad's boast was cut short as he came stumbling back on his two feet. The mimic had turned back from a snake into a ball and had succeeded in using its round body to cause Rad to lose his balance and have him fall back on his behind. That said and done, the mimic rolled away out of the shop, laughing giddily all the way.

Enid snarled and balled her right fist; this chase isn't gonna be over yet! "Follow that freak!" she rallied, pointing outside.

Soon, she, K.O., Rad, RMS, and Brandon all stampeded outside, leaving behind a shocked Mr. Logic and a worried Potato as she tended to a bald, woozy Colewort, groaning painfully on the barbershop floor. The five heroes scrambled outside in the parking lot, all looking in different directions to find where their foe has scurried off to. Unfortunately, the speedy mimic had been long gone in just the span of under a minute and now, and everyone began to grow quite panic-stricken.

"Uh, where the heck did it go to!?" cried out Brandon.

"I'm not sure!" answered Rad, "But I think after seeing what it's capable of, it's probably gonna take more than the five of us to defeat that thing though…" Enid nodded solemnly.

"Rad may have a point there…" she admitted, "Question is, who do we know that's strong enough to handle mimics?" Everyone pondered for a moment before Real Magic Skeleton piped up with a suggestion.

"Perhaps we can call P.O.I.N.T. and see if they can send Chip Damage to help us?" he offered. K.O. seemed exceedingly elated to have his superhero idol join in to help them out, but the easily-unimpressed Enid wasn't so keen on that thought.

"Pssh, that suave blowhard? Forget it…" she scoffed, "No, what we might need is a bit of magic to stop that freak. Mimics are technically vulnerable to spells and all that junk…" Rad raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, well, why not use your own witch powers to freeze that mimic or send it to another dimension, then?" asked Rad curiously. Enid blushed embarrassngly and rubbed her arm timidly.

"Well, th-that's because, I...uh...haven't perfected my witch magic to deal with mimics yet…" she answered feebly. Rad facepalmed and groaned softly.

"Great…" he replied sarcastically. Just then, K.O. got himself a razor-sharp idea too.

"Magic? Wait, I know!" he exclaimed. He then turned towards RMS and gave him an eager smile. "A Real Magic Skeleton, _you're_ a real magic skeleton, why don't you use your own magic to stop that mimic?" he suggested kindly. RMS looked unsure, though.

"Err, I dunno, K.O...my magic skills are not as good as they should be…" RMS admitted shyly, looking down at his boots in shame.

"Well, we have to try something!" replied Enid, "We simply can't have this mimic running around causing a mess!" Brandon nodded.

"Yeah, Magi! Just concentrate real hard and I'm sure you'll come up with a decent spell or somethin'!" he encouraged with a lazy grin. RMS gulped and he felt his body rattle down to his, well, bones. His friends were right, he knew something must be done and fast, even if his magic was considered weak by anyone else's standards!

Just then, everything happened at once yet again!

"AAAAAAAARRGGGHHH!"

"HELP US!"

"GET THIS FREAK AWAY FROM US!"

The five heroes turned to see customers and staff members pouring out of Lakewood Plaza's local coffee shop, all of them screaming frantically and running about in circles as a major ruckus was going on inside the shop. K.O. and the others gasped; somehow they knew this must be tied towards that mimic.

And fair enough, they were proven correct as Drupe and Barista Pup, two of the shop's employees soon came shrieking and sprinting out from their place of work as something (or rather some_one_) began chasing them soon after. Indeed, there was the mimic itself, now having taken the shape of a refrigerator, was chasing down the two baristas, firing items like milk bottles and other drinks straight at them, cackling like a madman all the while.

"SOMEBODY STOP THIS THING! IT'S MADE A TOTAL MESS OF THE SHOP!" Drupe cried out, currently being pelted by cans and bottles from behind.

"THIS IS _SO_ NOT WORTH $10 AN HOUR!" protested Barista Pup in defiance.

The sight of the mimic in its fridge-like body chasing some of their friends caused the fivesome to gasp in horror. RMS, in particular, seemed quite frazzled during all this. Even if his magic wasn't as good as it should be, he knew he had to at least try and make a stand!

No matter what, this mimic and its trickery must be stopped!

With the mimic nearing by the group, Barista Pup then dashed past the heroes, not even bothering to notice their presence as she hastily hopped in her car parked nearby and then tore out from the plaza, safe and sound. Drupe, however, wasn't so lucky to escape as quickly as Barista Pup was, leaving her no choice but to hide out with the others. She hid straight behind Radicles' muscle-bound physique and cowered in fear.

"Guys! Help me!" she cried out in fright, "That...that thing just appeared in the coffee shop and was attacking our customers! I don't know what the heck it wants with us!" K.O. walked up and placed a kindly hand on Drupe's shivering shoulder.

"Don't worry, Drupe, we'll protect ya!" he assured with a smile. Rad nodded back at Drupe and gave her a brave smile, to which Drupe slowly did manage to find herself feeling more at ease by having her friends around her. Rad then turned back to Real Magic Skeleton.

"Dude, it's now or never! Just give it your best shot!" he shouted. RMS' knees quivered and his teeth chattered, but regardless, he still put on a brave face. Rad was right; he really had to give it his all!

"Okay…" he whispered. Suddenly, the group felt a shadow loom over them as the mimic (still in its fridge form) was cackling above them, its eyes shining with evil. Real Magic Skeleton stepped up, bravely took in a deep breath, and stared the mimic down.

Suddenly, the purple gem fixed into his chest began to glow, signaling that RMS was now channeling his energy to conjure up a spell. Wind whooshed around his crimson-colored cape, his pupils gleamed a beautiful, though striking shade of magenta, and his balled-up, glove-wearing fists began to glow purple as well. The mimic watched with interest, ceasing his evil laughter to see RMS then slowly and silently levitate in the air.

Then, summoning all of his strength, Real Magic Skeleton took in the deepest breath he'd ever taken and then unballed his fists, revealing two shining, puce-colored orbs of energy being formed as he mustered up all his magic to form a spell strong to hopefully extinguish this pesky mimic once and for all! The mimic raised an eyebrow, somewhat perturbed by the skeleton's odd abilities.

And at long lost, RMS levitated back down on the ground, energy orbs still resonating in his hands, and then, he reeled back his arms and steadied his stance, akin to a Kamehameha pose. RMS squinted his eyes, focusing on the dumbfounded mimic in front of him. The puce color tone in the orbs soon began to glow a bright red; a warning that RMS' spell was now charging at a great rate before he slowly brought his hands together, forming the two orbs into one big, charging, red orb.

K.O., Drupe, Enid, Rad, and Brandon stood far back to give their friend some space, all watching in amazement at their friend channeling his own strength. Soon, after tense seconds of gathering enough energy to charge his spell attack, RMS frowned deeply and, to everyone's surprise, his whiny and high-pitched voice now had a more bolder, baritone reverb to it as he chanted this one warning towards the mimic before him.

"_**BEGONE, FOUL MIMIC!**_"

The orb forming from the skeleton's hand began glowing and vibrating faster and harder until at last, RMS' spell had finally commenced! He swung his hand forward and the orb began immediately firing an energy beam, so fast and so sudden that the mimic hadn't time to react quick enough, ending with him being struck with the spell attack. With the beam continually firing straight at its own chest, the mimic recoiled and froze up, unable to fight back as its body was trapped and engulfed with red electricity.

RMS laughed victoriously, pleasantly surprised that he was actually subduing this criminal after all! His friends all beamed and began shouting encouragement towards the skeleton.

"WHOOO! WAY TO GO, MAGI!"

"YOU GOT THIS, RMS!"

"KEEP IT UP, BUD! YOU'RE WEAKENING HIM!"

However, just as the mimic was finally ready to seize himself, something awry started to happen with Real Magic Skeleton's spell. The spell he was using was a paralysis trick to try and freeze its opponent in place for a good amount of time, but the spell was deemed too powerful for RMS to properly use, so much so that the skeleton felt his body rattle and shake violently. His bones shuddered and his skull shook, the gem on his chest beginning to flicker on and off steadily.

The paralysis spell soon began to wear off, freeing the mimic from its stinging, electrical discomfort. Soon, the spell wound up distinguishing itself entirely, and just like that, Real Magic Skeleton came to pieces (quite literally) as his disconnected skull and his other detached limbs came bouncing and clattering down on the ground.

The mimic lightly brushed away at what little electricity was fizzling around its body, staring in shock at what had just occurred. K.O., Brandon, and the others looked just as well and truly floored as the mimic was. Seconds ticked by until Radicles said what they were _all_ thinking of at the moment.

"_Dude, what the heck was all THAT about!?_" The blue alien exclaimed out incredulously. RMS shifted his fallen skull back towards his shell-shocked friends.

"I told you my magic wouldn't be strong enough!" he defended, "Every time I do a powerful spell, I wind up falling to pieces afterwards!" Rad rubbed at his temples, frowning deeply.

"Unbelievable! Are you blorping _kidding me _right now!?" he lamented, trying to piece all of this together. K.O., Drupe, Enid, and Brandon, all standing beside him, were all too busy gawking in surprise to even bother to speak up.

However, before either Real Magic Skeleton or one of the other heroes could say something else, the mimic began to cackle...only this time, it was a more jovial and amused cackle, rather than a malicious-sounding one. RMS winced frightfully at the mimic smirking smugly down at him.

"AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! What kind of weak-sauce garbage was _that!?_ So utterly pathetic! HA-HA-HA!" the mimic mocked, relishing in tormenting the skeleton magician.

RMS looked down and wallowed in self pity. Even though he was now reduced to a discombobulated skeleton at the moment, he couldn't have felt anymore small as the mimic towering above him continued to mock and chortle at him from his lame attempt at a spell. The other heroes seemed just as surprised and discouraged as he was, especially Brandon.

Before anyone could do anything else, the mimic then changed from its refrigerator body into a giant hand, flicking away RMS' skull head so far that it would up landing inside a garbage can close by Gar's Bodega, now out of the way. Brandon gasped in horror.

"RMS!" he cried, trying to reach out and save him, but Drupe held him back to prevent him from getting mauled by the mimic. With that done, the mimic then quickly transformed into a humanoid body, one that was just as tall and menacing as its refrigerator shape, and with its right hand, he produced a weapon of its own.

A spiked mace held by its arm with a chain.

Everyone gasped and shivered with fear. The mimic, now having its sight set on K.O. and his friends, slowly and sinisterly walked up towards the group, kicking away some of RMS' limp and scattered limbs to the side, his mace hand raised up and ready to strike down on the Lakewood heroes. K.O., Enid, Rad, Drupe, and Brandon huddled together and clamped their eyes shut, almost expecting for this creature to finally attack them with one blow.

Then, it happened.

"HEY, FREAK!"

***PEW! BOOM!***

The mimic began growling in agony, clutching its right arm as something seemed like explode on its right hand, causing it to turn the mace back into a regular hand. As the mimic began wincing and tending to its pained limb, it and the other heroes looked off to the side where they heard a feminine voice ring out close by before the mimic was attacked.

Thankfully, a heroine donned in cherry red armor and black spandex, armed with an arm cannon and tons of spunk had came to the rescue of K.O. and his buddies, who in return all beamed and gasped with delight. They certainly knew who this certain hero was.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

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**Should I even have to tell you who came in to save the day? ;)**

**Anywho, I apologize again for the lateness of this story. I'm currently also writing an Ed, Edd, n' Eddy story on the side as well so that wound up taking more time and energy out of me than I'd expect! Third chapter should be coming up ASAP, so be sure to keep an eye out for that! Expect more secondary OK K.O, characters to pop up next chapter (mainly being ones that I really haven't the chance to write that much for yet), so I'll see ya soon with Chapter Three and thanks again for reading and favoriting! :D**

**~Thunderbyrd**


	3. Chapter 3: Panic At The Parking Lot

**In response to OMAC100's review: **_**Glad you were able to notice that one moment with the mimic! There certainly is a legit reason why this mimic seems to hold such a vendetta towards "friends" in general, but that will be touched upon in a later chapter. However, in terms of having the mimic make peace with the heroes, which I don't wanna spoil how it ultimately ends neither, I will say that the mimic will be given a chance to back down and to drop arms at some point by having a certain young hero to try and play "peace-keeper" with it (as if we had to guess who that hero is, eh? ;) ). Still though, I'm very happy you're enjoying the story, so thanks for the support! :D**_

**Finally managed to finish up another chapter for y'all, because now, we get to see another Lakewood Plaza hero join the fray to help stop this mimic! Let's see how this turns out, shall we?**

**OK K.O! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun.)**

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**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**CHAPTER THREE: PANIC AT THE PARKING LOT**

Everyone gasped and shivered with fear. The mimic, now having its sights set on K.O. and his friends, slowly and sinisterly walked up towards the group, kicking away some of RMS' limp and scattered limbs to the side, his mace hand raised up and ready to strike down on the Lakewood heroes. K.O., Enid, Rad, Drupe, and Brandon huddled together and clamped their eyes shut, almost expecting for this creature to finally attack them with one blow.

Then, it happened.

"HEY, FREAK!"

***PEW! BOOM!***

The mimic began growling in agony, clutching its right arm as something seemed like explode on its right hand, causing it to turn the mace back into a regular hand. As the mimic began wincing and tending to its pained limb, it and the other heroes looked off to the side where they heard a feminine voice ring out close by before the mimic was attacked.

Thankfully, a heroine donned in cherry red armor and black spandex, armed with an arm cannon and tons of spunk had came to the rescue of K.O. and his buddies, who in return all beamed and gasped with delight. They certainly knew who this certain hero was.

"Red Action!" They all chorused with excitement. The mimic snarled at the Hue Trooper, still trying to cradle its damaged hand.

Red Action smoothly brushed away her neon red hair and cockily smirked at the mimic. "So, ya wanna back down now or are we gonna have to settle things the hard way?" she challenged brashly, aiming her arm cannon back at the shapeshifting creature.

The mimic scoffed. "This ain't your fight, you glorified Power Ranger!" it snapped, "My beef is with these pathetic heroes here, so kindly leave me be!"

Red growled and began quickly charging up a shot with her cannon, not taking a liking to have him insult her friends like that. Her cannon was still directed towards the mimic, but now her aim was pointed straight at its head. "Yeah, well, _my_ beef is with you for trying to hurt my friends!" she shot back, a determined, fiery glint in her eyes.

The mimic snarled, slowly beginning to foam at the mouth with seething rage! Its right eye twitched sporadically. "You Lakewood losers and your _friendship_...I _despise_ friendship…" it growled, its voice riddled with nothing but bubbling venom.

Red rolled her eyes at the mimic's corny-sounding threat and without warning, she simply shot a single blast from her cannon right at the mimic. The mimic hastily ducked its head away from the shot and began to morph its body into another new form; this time as a rather angry and feral-looking puma.

The puma let out a bloodthirsty roar that seemed to echo all around Lakewood Plaza before it started sprinting towards Red Action, its beady eyes yellow with fury. Red gasped and began shooting more cannon fire at the puma running towards her, but her shots ultimately missed because of the mimic's agility and speed.

***SMACK!*** "GAAHHH!"

Red Action suddenly felt herself knocked off her feet by the mimic as it pounced right on her chest. Red fell on her back against the hard pavement, doing her best to try and shake the mimic's puma form off of her. The other heroes gasped in terror, unsure of what to do or how to help.

Enid, however, was a different story as she wasted no time running towards the fallen Hue Trooper to try and save her from peril. But luckily, Enid hadn't needed to help as Red was already getting things under control at the moment.

As the mimic was busy trying to repeatedly and furiously slash through her metallic chest armor with its claws, only leaving scuffs and scratch marks instead, Red charged up her arm cannon to its highest capacity. Then, with no warning, she grabbed the mimic by the back of its neck and gave it an uppercut aimed right under its belly, combined with her charged shot that helped propel the mimic right off of her and send it flying high into the afternoon sky.

The charged blast / uppercut move proved to work too good considering that, by now, the mimic hurtling across the sky, simply vanished into the clouds without a trace. All was silent and peaceful once more.

Red Action hoisted herself up off the ground, just in time for Enid to jog up to see if her friend was badly hurt. "Red! Are you alright!? Did that thing hurt you!?" Enid gasped despairingly. Red groaned and rubbed at her scuffed-up armor, but she wasn't injured.

"Nah, I'm right as rain, E…" Red assured, patting Enid on the back and giving her a small smirk. Enid, regardless, still couldn't help herself as she could only give Red a big bear hug in return, relieved to have her friend safe and sound.

"Red, I...you could've been...I mean...oh…" stammered Enid from within the embrace. On one hand, she wanted to thank Red from coming to their rescue, but even so, she almost felt the need to scold her for being so brash and for nearly getting torn into ribbons during the fight. In the end, all Enid could feel was pure relief that Red was still in one piece.

"I'm just happy you're okay, Red…"

As soon as Enid had whispered that, Red felt her cheeks glow brighter than her hair color, returning the embrace with no complaints as she gave Enid a grateful grin. "Thanks, E…" Red smiled softly.

However, just as the two finally their hug, no sooner had they finally got back on their feet before Enid and Red fell back down to the ground once again as they were both glomped by four other incoming heroes. Poor Red Action found herself caught in a massively tight group hug, courtesy of Rad, K.O., Drupe, and Brandon. The four began shouting and crying out "thank you's" and singing Red's praises for saving their lives.

Red simply chuckled from within the dogpile and tried to ease down her friends. "Guys, guys! Chill out! You all can get off us now!" she insisted. Luckily, they all complied, getting off the two girls and also helping the strained Enid and Red Action up and back on the feet once again.

Enid began cracking her back from having her friends pile on her like that and gave them all an unimpressed look. "Geez, guys, maybe a warning would've been nice?" she huffed sarcastically. Red Action dusted off her armor and turned back towards the group.

"Okay, so, uh, anyone mind tellin' me what a mimic of all things is doin' here at the plaza?" she queried, "I thought those things tend to live in dungeons and stuff?"

"Well, that thing apparently escaped from the stockroom in the bodega, Cob knows how…" Radicles answered, "but either way, that thing's been causing havoc all morning and we all haven't been able to stop it yet!"

Red raised a confused eyebrow. "Did you guys try to attack it with magic? That usually slows them down a bit."

K.O. sadly shook his head. "Real Magic Skeleton tried to stop it with one of his spells, but his powers weren't strong enough to completely stop it." The mere mention of his best friend's name suddenly caused poor Brandon to panic.

"Aw, heck, RMS! I nearly forgot about him!" he yelped, remembering how his lackluster battle with the mimic had ended. He then wasted not time picking up all of RMS' body parts in his hands and began sprinting to where RMS' skull had landed to help put him together.

However, no sooner did Brandon leave to help his friend, everything else happened at once.

***WHOOOOOSH!***

A very faint whoosh resounded from high above the heroes. The noise echoed all around the deathly-silent plaza, as if it was a warning to those that something sinister may be approaching. K.O. and the others looked up to the sky, trying to find out what could be making that noise. They both found their answer soon.

What appeared to be a plane of sorts soared far above in the sky, having just peeked out from behind some clouds. The mysterious aircraft began to circle around the whole plaza, like a buzzard hovering around a desert. K.O. and his friends hardly dared to speak. They all weren't sure what this plane was doing nor why.

Red Action, however, seemed to be doing her best to decipher what this plane was doing. However, seeing the plane slowly beginning to descend down and noticing the light pink color scheme it sported had already gave Red a clear idea what this particular aircraft was actually supposed to be.

The far-off cackling also seemed to give a hint on who it could be as well, as K.O. and the others soon found out shortly after. Red's pupils shrank and her breathing staggered. She even managed to flinch upon seeing the plane - still soaring far away from the plaza, mind you - now reaching ground level and heading right towards our heroes at an alarming speed.

As the plane was soon ready to divebomb the heroes, Red Action wasted no time to warn her friends. "EVERYONE, GET DOWN, _NOW!_"

She then immediately pushed down the other heroes down on the ground, away from harm's way. And just in the nick of time too as soon enough, a cackling, light pink fighter jet with a yellow mouth and eyes planted on the jet's nose cone whooshed _right_ above them, the vapors from the jet engine powerful enough to forcefully blow away the five heroes off their feet.

The mimic had now successfully attempted to turn into its new form: a supersonic fighter jet. And by now, it was taking more drastic and violent measures to ensure that these Lakewood heroes would feel his mischievous wrath. It began to ascend to the sky a bit to turn around and see if it could actually try and mow these pesky heroes down this time. The air was filled with the sound of an angry jet engine, roaring loud enough for the sound to reverb around the far-off Danger Zone Mountains and back, causing an ominous echo to surround the plaza.

K.O., Red Action, Rad, Enid, and Drupe were all flopping and skidding on the ground, still affected by the jet engine's strong propulsion that they were blown all the way back towards Gar's Bodega. Brandon had just helped a grateful RMS pull himself out of the trash can and had even managed to piece together his skeleton body once again until they both wind up got slammed to the ground by five incoming heroes knocking them aside from such strong winds blowing them off their feet.

The impact was enough to even cause RMS' skull head to disconnect with its body once again. "Aw, nuts…" RMS grumbled, his head now wobbling about on the ground. Brandon shook away the dizziness from his head and turned towards his overwhelmed allies.

"What's happening, guys!?" the bear yelled out in terror.

"Grr, now that little sociopath's trying to run us down!" Enid crossly answered back as she and the other pulled themselves together and stood back up.

"Well, then…" huffed a determined Rad, cracking his knuckles, "Let's take it down before it takes us out first!" Drupe simply gave Rad a weird look, as if he had grown five heads.

"How in Cob's name are we gonna take down a _fighter jet!?_" Drupe screeched incredulously, "We're all open targets!"

Drupe was right; the small group of heroes were all standing in front of Mr. Gar's Bodega, not necessarily cornered per se, but if they weren't able to act fast enough, they could still be trapped long enough to still be attacked. This was made evident as the mimic had now made its complete circle around the plaza and was soon flying towards out heroes.

Worse still, the mimic then produced its own choice of weaponry from underneath the jet: a small Gatling gun, charged and ready to fire. The sight of the jet's newest weapon had sent the heroes in a frenzy, and it especially wasn't helping that the gun's shooting barrel began to spin, indicating that it was ready to unleash a barrage of bullets upon them all.

While everyone was in the midst of a full-blown panic, Red Action simply frowned and boldly stepped up in front of her friends. The mimic was steadily approaching them in its jet form, high enough in the air to have enough elbow room to fire its gun. The mimic was snickering maliciously and grinning like a madman. Nothing was going to stop it this time…

...aside from one certain arm cannon-wielding hero that is…

Red Action immediately brought up her cannon and carefully aimed the cannon barrel towards her target. She would need to be absolutely precise with her targeting to take down this menace in one shot, then hopefully, the blast would weaken the mimic enough to be vulnerable to be safely captured. Either way, she knew she had to make this shot count. She stepped backwards for a few steps and held up her right arm, still trying to perfect her aim as to blast down their enemy.

"That's it...get closer, you little freak…" she muttered to herself, continually trying to set her sights perfectly on their rapidly-approaching target.

Unfortunately, just as she finally managed to line up her shot as neatly as she could, aiming straight at the front of the fastly-approaching aircraft, trouble ensued.

Her high-heeled foot had accidentally stumbled upon one of Real Magic Skeleton's fallen and detached limbs. She wobbled and gasped upon stepping on the bone that she aimlessly fired her cannon out of surprise!

***PEW!*** ***WHOOOOOSH!***

The sudden cannon shot fired off, a plasma blast now whooshing off into the sky. However, despite the slip-up, the aim of the blast was still directed towards the mimic as planned, but with the trajectory thrown slightly off, the blast wouldn't be aimed for the front of the jet exactly.

The mimic was too busy guffawing excitedly to even bother to notice the shot incoming towards it. It was just about ready to actually fire off its own gun, when...

***KA-BLAM!*** "_GGGAAARRRRRGGHHHHHH!_"

The left wing of the mimic's jet form exploded in a plasma blast large enough to cause the entire wing to completely burn off, leaving only one right wing to try and balance the jet, which proved to be difficult for the pained mimic. Try as it might, the mimic did its best to balance itself to prevent from descending down into a nosedive, but it was no use at all! There was too much weight on the right wing, causing the jet to tip over on its right side at an awkward angle.

The jet then veered to its right, away from the plaza while still trying to keep above the ground without crashing, but just barely. The mimic screamed and growled in writhing pain, too distracted by trying to save its own hide to notice an obstacle close by.

A familiar yellow food truck run by a blue-skinned troll with a scruffy beard was merrily cooking up some fresh food, nonplussed to the chaos going about outside the confines of his restaurant-on-wheels. The truck was parked alongside the Beauty and Weapons store, and in the path of a damaged, screaming, light pink jet plane roaring just above his vehicle with a single wing weighing it down.

Beardo had just finished putting the final touches on one of his freshly-cooked burritos until he finally spotted what was actually coming towards him. "What the!?" he gasped out, too stunned to react quickly in time.

That was when the collision happened. The jet's right wing had just managed to clip the top of Beardo's food truck, hard and fast enough to cause the truck to tip over and slam on its side with an echoing thud, with Beardo still inside! The seven heroes gasped concernedly at the sight of what just happened.

The mimic, still screaming and growling even after the impact, spun and twirling sporadically in the air. If losing its left plane wing wasn't enough to throw off its stability, then clipping its other wing against a truck certainly did. The jet swooped up and down and all around in the air, the sound of its engine faltering fast. And soon enough, after much flailing around, the jet was seen disappearing behind the Fitness Dojo, reaching a small, empty field located behind Lakewood Plaza, before the mimic had no choice but to crash-land.

***CRASH!*** ***KA-BOOOM!***

The impact echoed in the atmosphere, along with the pained groans of a mimic afterwards, but the Lakewood heroes didn't have time to dwell on that. They wanted to check first if Beardo was hurt or not. They all broke away from their dazed state and they all ran up towards the truck to look after their foreign, food-cooking friend.

Luckily and thankfully, while they were doing that, Beardo was soon able to crawl out from the open window on the food truck's side and hoist himself out to safety. The inside of his overturned truck was an utter mess and his clothes and body was drenched with stains and splotches of condiments, meat, sauces, and other mishmashes of food items, but overall, Beardo was more dizzy and surprised than hurt, much to the others' relief.

Still, the others couldn't help but worry for their fallen ally as they all scrambled up towards the tipped-over truck to see if Beardo wasn't hurt.

"Beardo! Are you okay!?" K.O. cried out, his tone laced with nothing but concern. The foreign food-truck cook coughed and managed to pull himself out of the truck and fell back on his rear-end onto the ground. He had some scratches on his face and a bruise on his left shin, but he was still alive and intact.

"Ugh...yeah, I'm fine...thank you, child…" he grumbled, feeling around for anymore sores or cuts on his body, "What on Earth hit me!?" he asked the group of young heroes.

"It was a mimic, sir!" explained RMS, "He's been causing a ruckus all day now, and we don't know what to do!" Beardo pursed his lips in thought as he slowly got back up on his feet, cracking his back in the process.

"A mimic, huh? Hmm, have you young'uns tried magic to stop mimic?" he asked thoughtfully. Enid frowned sadly.

"Real Magic Skeleton tried to, but his magic wasn't strong enough to stop it…" she explained. RMS hung his head in sadness, with Brandon sympathetically patting his back in assurance. Beardo frowned and scratched his stubbly chin.

"Oi...I see...back in Goblin Country, we had wizards and sages to help stop mimics from terrorizing villages and castles. Little buggers always loved to go around and use their powers for mischief…" he mused. Rad rolled his eyes.

"Considering that that thing tried to run us down as a jet, I'm certain the line between 'mischief' and 'straight-up murder' is kinda blurred for that mimic…" he snarked, brushing off some dust off his work jacket.

"Hmm, quite…" Beardo answered back in agreement, having now looked at the sorry state of his truck before turning back towards the other heroes with a serious expression. "Do any of you all happen to know any more heroes who dabble in magic?" Enid gave the troll-like cook a tilted frown.

"Well, there was this one wizard that came by the plaza some time ago, but he's not so much the helpful sort. Dude turned me into stone because I was actin' rude to him…" she said, fully remembering her first unpleasant occurrence with Wally the White that one time months ago.

"Well, there must be somebody at the plaza at least high-levelled enough to take down that mimic!" piped up Drupe worriedly, "Something has to be done!" Radicles' atenneas then began to buzz wildly; an idea was forming in his head.

"Well, since Mr. Gar's out of town for now, maybe K.O.'s mom can help us battle this guy She's just as powerful as Gar!" he suggested. K.O. simply frowned sadly and shook his head in regret.

"We can't, Rad! Mommy came down with a bad cold this morning! She's in no condition to fight a mimic like this one!" he explained. Rad buried his head in his hands and groaned irritably.

"Ugh, are you seriously joshing me right now!?" he griped, "Why is every high-levelled hero conveniently absent during such moments like this!?" Rad twitched and he felt a vein pulse in his head. He looked like he was going to sob out of frustration. Enid frowned and stepped up towards him, upon seeing the distraught look on K.O.'s face right now.

"Hey, cool it, Rad! How're we supposed to know a mimic was gonna show up today!?" she defended, her face wrinkled with protective sisterly-ness. Red Action nodded in agreement.

"Enid's right! We all can fight this thing and we can still win!" she stated assuringly, "We all just gotta think smart!"

As everybody was about to try and brainstorm up another plan, Brandon immediately hatched up an idea. "Wait! I may have something!" Rad, who has finally managed to calm down and back off, raised a confused eyebrow.

"You do?" he asked curiously. "What is it, Brandon?" added Drupe.

"Well, hear me out! You all know when Boxman brought Big Darrell to attack us and everyone at the plaza formed this big arm to take that robot down?" began Brandon, feeling quite excitedly confident in his plan, "Combined, our Power Stats were tallied up to Level 100! Maybe if we can find any more heroes around in the plaza, they can help us fight this mimic by strengthening our numbers, man!"

Everybody blinked in surprise upon hearing such an idea come out from _Brandon_ of all people, but still, they did give the plan some thought and they all smiled, agreeing to give it a try. Even RMS was impressed with his best friend's plan.

"It _is_ crazy enough to work…" agreed RMS quietly. Beardo sniffed and smiled broadly.

"I agree! At least it'll be enough to slow down mimic for a while…" he stated positively. Red Action frowned softly.

"Yeah, but, we still need to find a hero who uses magic to take that thing down for good! Everything we throw at it seemed to bounce right off of him!" Red reminded carefully, in spite of her agreement with Brandon's idea. Everybody began brainstorming again, trying to a hero with strong enough magic to help them in their darkest hour.

However, it wasn't long until K.O. felt the gears in his head slowly begin to turn. He remembered the last time he, Rad, and Enid had to deal with a mimic. They were all trekking through the bodega's stockroom, trying to search for an item for a customer, but they had all gotten lost as a result. They had all came across many creatures during their travels; mimics, gloops, that one green guy in the cloak…

Wait? Green guy in a cloak...could _he_ maybe help them out with this mimic problem? It was certainly worth a shot!

K.O. bounced up and down in place and waved his right arm in the air like an excited kid waiting to be called to answer a question in class. "Ooh, ooh, ooh! I think I know someone who can help us!" he squealed. The others turned towards the boy with curious, confused looks.

"Who ya talkin' about, buddy?" Rad asked.

"That green guy in the stockroom! The one with the cloak and the big nose?. What was his name again? Barry? Larry?" As K.O. kept prattling on, it only took a single second for Enid and Rad to understand who K.O. was referring to. They both smiled in realization as the answer finally came to them both.

"Gary!" they both chimed, delighted grins plastered on their faces.

"I nearly forgot about him!" Rad added, beside himself with relief.

"Maybe he can help us out! He's been guarding the stockroom 24/7 for many years, so he's got to know how to deal with mimics. Plus, he knows magic to boot!" finished Enid, pumping her fists with excitement. The other heroes, meanwhile, seemed more skeptical than overjoyed compared to the other three heroes.

"So, uh, all we gotta do is get this Gary guy to help us fight this mimic?" Drupe asked, puzzled. Enid nodded confidently.

"Of course! Mr. Gar hired him to keep watch in the stockroom labyrinth for any intruders or monsters that could pop up in there, _and_ he's also Level 10 so he's more than capable of helping us out with taking down a mimic!" she explained, growing more and more confident with their idea. Red Action smirked and nodded.

"Well, let's all find this Gary fella, then!" she stated, ready to get started with their new mission. However, she was gently held back by Radicles before she could go guns-a-blazin'.

"Hold up, we still gotta handle that mimic first! Who knows if that thing still is still alive after that crash…" he explained logically. RMS nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps one of us should find this Gary fella and see if he can help us out while the rest of us try to stave off this mimic?" the skeleton asked thoughtfully. K.O. nodded up at RMS and smiled at his idea.

"Good idea!" he piped up, "But, who is going to going to try and get Gary then?"

Nobody really offered to go at first, as evident by how silent everyone was. However, after a few tense seconds, one hero was bold enough to step up and accept this task.

"I'll go…"

The others stared agape with surprise at Enid as she carefully walked up, giving everyone in the group a serious and brave face. K.O. and Rad seemed especially flummoxed in particular.

"You wanna go through the stockroom, Enid?" Rad asked incredulously. "That place is like a big, ol' maze! Plus, the rooms all change around randomly!" K.O. added, looking just as shocked and scared. Enid sighed softly.

"I know, but we all don't have a choice…" she replied logically, "If Gary's the only one out of all of us that can stop this mimic, then somebody has to fetch him…" Rad shook his head negatively, the idea of Enid trekking through the stockroom alone really not settling well with him.

"Enid, you shouldn't be the one doing this!" he insisted, placing a hand on Enid's shoulder, "Let _me_ do this! The bodega back room is usually my domain anyways!" Enid raised an eyebrow at Rad's suggestion.

"No offense, Rad, but last time you led us through the stockroom, we all got lost…" she reminded carefully, "Besides, I'm a higher power level than you, so I have more stamina to go through this place than you do…" Enid's statement wasn't meant to sound offensive in the slightest, given her calm and focused tone, but Rad still felt quite annoyed.

"No way! That's a load of garbage!" he retorted, "I know about the bodega back rooms, so I'm gonna get Gary!" Enid was about to argue once more, that it until another hero started to throw his hat into the ring.

"I can go get Gary!" Enid and Rad ogled in bafflement down at K.O., who bravely stepped up to accept this mission himself.

"_You_, K.O.!?" Rad gasped in shock, while Enid looked more stern and protective at this offer.

"Out of the question, K.O.!" she firmly huffed, "You're _way_ too young to go through that stockroom by yourself!" K.O., however, wasn't going to back down.

"But _somebody_ has to get Gary to fix this mess!" he countered desperately. The three friends were soon about ready to spark an argument on which one of them was to trek into the stockroom to inform Gary about their predicament. Luckily, one of their other friends from amidst the group of heroes still silently and awkwardly standing on the side, watching the trio have their little disagreement, had soon decided to bring this scene to an end before things _really_ spiraled out of control.

"Oh, for the love of Jones-Quartey, will _one_ of you guys just go get Gary already!? We don't have time for this!" Red Action called out from afar, clearly growing impatient and antsy from all this. Rad turned towards her and scoffed indignantly.

"Hey, it's not as easy as it seems, Red! We just can't risk having one of us get lost or hurt while going through that stockroom all willy-nilly!" he stated. Red Action's eye twitched in annoyance, she couldn't believe what Rad just said right now.

"People are gonna get hurt _here_ if we don't just get...grrrr…" Red stopped herself mid-sentence to try and calm down her nerves before she really got steamed. She rubbed the temples on her head and exhaled in exhaustion.

"Cob, you guys are more worse than _my_ team…" she muttered tiredly under her breath before she stepped up and walked away from the group, an idea of her own forming in her head, "If that's the case, _I'll_ go get Gary then!" she decided finally, heading towards the bodega with determination.

Rad, K.O., and Enid nearly doubled over in shock upon hearing _that_ bold claim before the three of them jumped up and suddenly pounced up on top of Red Action to stop her in her tracks. "_YEOW!_" Red yelled out upon getting unexpectedly dogpiled by three of her friends before they all clamored down at her, still keeping her down and secure on the ground.

"Red, you can't do that! You'll get lost!" K.O. squeaked incredulously.

"That stockroom is an absolute hedge maze! There's no way you'll find your way out again!" Enid retorted.

"We've worked at that bodega for a long while and even _we_ had trouble escaping that place the last time!" Rad reminded. Red grumbled softly and looked up at the three heroes pinning her down with an annoyed look as she tapped the pavement with her finger impatiently.

"So, what do you suggest we do then? We gotta get Gary somehow…" she simply reminded.

The bodega trio looked at each other softly; Red _did_ strike a good point there. None of them wanted to go through that stockroom again, lest something happened to them while searching for Gary. But still, they still had to deal with this mimic that was terrorizing this plaza right now and none of them had magic strong enough to disable this fiend. It only took a few more seconds of quiet thinking before the three finally came to something of an agreement.

They all got up from the ground, freeing Red Action from their grasp when Rad spoke up. "Okay, so, maybe me and Enid should go and get Gary then…" he stated, "We've been working at the bodega for a long time, so together, we should be able to manage our way through there…"

Enid quietly agreed with Rad's offer with a small nod, which Red Action returned. "Okay," the Hue Trooper began, "well, while you guys do that, some of us will go see if that mimic's still kicking…" She then turned towards Beardo with a serious glint in her eyes.

"Beardo, can you see if you can find any more heroes trapped or stranded around here in the plaza? We'll need to keep them safe and far away from that mimic until we can find a way to subdue it!" she asked. Beardo nodded and smirked lightly at her.

"No problem, Red!" he agreed, flashing her an A-OK sign. Next, Red turned towards Drupe and Brandon.

"I want you both to join Beardo as well. He might need some extra help trying to round up any fallen heroes here…" she assigned, to which Drupe and Brandon gave her an affirmative, though timid pair of nods. However, just as Red had given most of the heroes their new tasks, one little hero still had something to say.

"W-Wait a minute!" cried out K.O., raising his hand as to try and make himself seen. The rest of the group looked down at K.O., confused.

"Yeah, K.O.?" Red Action asked. K.O. put his hand down, a worrisome look in his big eyes.

"Can't I be able to go with Rad and Enid to the stockroom, too?" he asked with a frown, "What if they might need my help?" Enid and Rad looked at each other solemnly before the former spoke up as carefully as she can be.

"K.O., we just can't let that happen to ya, little dude…" Enid confided gently, "Rad and I have been working at Gar's for longer than you have, so we at least know a little bit more about that area than you do…" K.O. began to look even more sad.

"B-But, last time we all went in the back room, Rad got us lost and a mimic nearly killed us!" K.O. gasped, fearful tears beginning to form in his eyes. Rad sizzled with mild annoyance upon being reminded of that moment, though Enid wasn't backing down herself.

"It's just too dangerous, K.O.. We ain't gonna risk having you get lost or hurt in that stockroom. I'm sorry, but we gotta do this by ourselves…" she insisted firmly and finally.

At this point, K.O. was straight up ready to burst into tears, feeling so upset and helpless now that Enid and Rad will be going through the maze-like stockroom without his assistance. He sniffled pathetically as he felt droplets of tears trickle down his cheeks.

"B-B-But...it's not fair…*sniffle*", he blubbered upsettingly, "What if something bad happens to you two? What if you two get lost and I won't be able to help!? I don't wanna see you guys get hurt!" He then tried wiping away his tears, which proved useless as more fresh tears kept pouring down his face as he looked sorrowfully down at his feet.

"I don't wanna lose you guys…" he whimpered in a low, scared voice, "You two are my best friends and the closest things I'll have to a big brother and sister.." More tiny drops of tears fell down, dripping off his face and splashing down at the ground.

Enid and Rad gazed down sympathetically at their little friend. They both really didn't want to go through the stockroom again, regardless if K.O. was joining them or not. But, they wanted to ensure K.O.'s safety beforehand, knowing that perchance he'd be better off helping Red Action and the other outside rather than get lost in the back of the bodega. It pained them both to see K.O. look so depressed and hopeless, but they had to stay firm and strong for him.

It wasn't long until Enid kneeled down and opened her arms, beckoning K.O. to come over for a hug, which the young hero graciously and promptly agreed to. He clamped onto Enid like a leech and greedily soaked in on her love, as Enid comfortingly hugged K.O. in assurance. Radicles soon joined in, too, as he knelt down beside Enid and wrapped his beefy, strong arms around the two of them, bringing them all into a warm, safe group hug. They let K.O. quietly sob into their embrace, rubbing his back to ease the boy's nerves before they spoke up once again.

"K.O., I know you're worried about us going into the stockroom, but it's gonna be okay…" soothed Enid with the tone of voice that only a mother could give, "What's important is that you stay behind and help Red and the others with that mimic. We'll handle with fetching Gary, you can count on that…" K.O. sniffled and looked up at his two taller, protective friends.

"B-But, what if I'm capable enough to fight without you g-guys…?" he piped up, still fraught with sadness. Radicles lightly smirked and ruffled the boy's thick hair affectionately.

"Dude, you're _more_ than capable enough to fight without us…" he reminded sincerely, "You've went on many adventures without having us tag along and you've survived and done good, right?"

K.O. took some time to think over Rad's statement; to be fair, he _did_ have a point there. Memories of him fighting BoxMore 'Bots, going on perilous journeys, and travelling to far-off locales flooded his mind, and while it didn't make him any less worried for his friends, a smidgen of self-confidence slowly began to seep inside his heart once more.

"Besides…" continued Enid, "you'll have Red Action and the guys to be by your side until we return…" Red Action then stepped up close to the hugging trio and gave K.O. a reassuring grin.

"Yeah, dude, that mimic ain't gonna stop any of us, especially when we're together!" she replied coolly, with the others giving the trio proud smiles of their own. K.O. still felt a little apprehensive, in spite or everyone's reassurance, but even so, somebody had to get Gary and somebody needed to slow down or stop this mimic until then.

He eventually gave Rad and Enid his final answer. "...okay…" he muttered softly, still embracing his two idols with vigor, "...just please be careful…"

Rad and Enid smiled down at K.O., comfortingly giving him as much assurance as he needed. "Don't worry, little bro, we'll make it out alright…" he replied in his most brotherly tone yet. Enid nodded.

"You just worry about stopping that mimic...we believe in you, K.O…." she finished, her tone laced with sincerity and pure, sisterly love.

And, as if to make her statement valid, Enid craned her head down to give K.O. a soft peck on his forehead before they soon slowly released their embrace. K.O. began to feel more and more assured and willing afterwards, smiling softly up at his two teenage friends as they both got up, with Enid looking over to Red Action with serious eyes.

"Please make sure K.O. stays out of trouble until we get back…he's special to us both and we can't let him get into any predicaments..." Enid asked softly. Red smiled reassuringly and brought the little boy into a sisterly side hug.

"No worries, girl!" she smirked in a playful, yet persuading tone, "Kid's pretty much _my_ lil' bro, too, y'know? You both just focus on finding Gary now..."

Enid beamed thankfully and quickly gave Red Action a warm hug in response, to which the Hue Trooper returned before they released each other. By now, Rad and Enid really had to get their mission started.

"We'll try and be back in ten minutes, guys! Good luck!" said Enid as she and Rad began sprinting across the plaza's parking lot and towards the bodega.

"Stay safe, you guys!" called Radicles afterwards as soon, he and Enid were soon out of earshot. Everyone waved goodbye and called out their "good luck" messages back to them, with poor little K.O. glumly waving alongside. Once they were out of sight, K.O. carefully looked up at Red Action with nervous eyes.

"So, what will _I_ be doing then?" he asked timidly. Red knelt down and looked K.O. in the eyes. "You'll be with me and Real Magic Skeleton, little guy...we're gonna investigate behind the plaza to see where that mimic might be…" K.O. listened carefully to his new role, although RMS was more shocked and scared to find out he'll be part of that task as well.

"ME!?" he squeaked, shivering like mad. Red rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, you! We'll both need back-up in case that mimic survived crashing…" she explained. RMS groaned softly and his knees shook and rattled in fear, but in the end, despite his fears and his low self-esteem, he quietly agreed to Red's plan with a small nod.

Red turned back towards K.O., her eyes gleaming with seriousness. "K.O., can I count on you to help us with this mission? It's gonna be a rough one, but I know I can trust you to help us…" she said to him. Her tone was teeming with genuinity and confidence, knowing that K.O. was strong enough to help out with this task.

Luckily, K.O. still held a sliver of conviction inside of him as he bravely grinned up at the red-themed Hue Trooper. "I'll do my very best, Red…" he replied as boldly as he could. Red proudly smiled down at him and ran a sisterly hand through his hair.

"That's all I ask, kiddo…" she graciously stated. With that done, Red Action was ready to bring her plan into fruition.

"Alright guys, arms in!" she ordered towards the group as she stood up. Soon, K.O., Beardo, Brandon, Drupe, and RMS all suddenly huddled up in a circle and brought their arms up, bringing their hands together in the middle, with Red speaking up seriously towards them all.

"Fellas, we are all dealing with a crafty and dangerous foe...one that's more threatening than any BoxMore 'Bot or other evil dude put together. We all have our part to keep this plaza safe from harm against that thing, so we must stay strong until Rad and Enid have completed their side of the mission. Meaning, we all just gotta slow that mimic down for the time being. Understood!?"

"YES, MA'AM!" the others shouted in unison. Red smirked and nodded.

"Good! Let's roll out, heroes! For Lakewood!" she rallied with a determined smile.

"FOR LAKEWOOD!" came the vigorous reply from the other heroes, all breaking the huddle and ready to get started.

And soon, everyone in the group were all ready to go through with their own special missions: Red Action, K.O., and Real Magic Skeleton went off to search for the mimic from behind Lakewood Plaza; Beardo, Drupe, and Brandon set out to find any heroes that may be caught from within the chaos the mimic had caused around the plaza; and Radicles and Enid were now inside of Gar's Bodega, quickly entering into the stockroom to search for Gary and to see if he'd be willing to help them all with their mimic problem.

However, with the possibility of the mimic having survived its crash landing, the heroes of Lakewood Plaza Turbo would still need to keep their wits intact and their senses nice and sharp should they all have to go up against such a dastardly foe.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

**Another chapter finished, and now, all that's left are at least two more chapters folks! :D**

**Sorry again for any delays however. My work schedule has been switched about for the last couple of weeks and the area I live in (which is in Northeastern Pennsylvania), has been hit with three, count 'em, THREE thunderstorms in a row, causing my sinuses to go out of whack and leave me with a mild cold. But still, I'm recovering well enough now so hopefully I can try and get my other stories done quickly, but efficiently for all you guys reading! :)**

**Stay tuned for Chapter Four, where we get to see a bunch more Lakewood Plaza heroes finally get a chance to get some clarity in my stories as they too join the fray against the mimic! :D**

**~Thunderbyrd**


	4. Chapter 4: Fear at the Field

**Chapter Four has arrived, ladies and non-ladies!**

**I'm especially excited to show off this chapter to y'all, because towards the middle-part, we'll be expecting a surprise character to show up to the fray...but who that character is, I ain't gonna tell… ;)**

**For now, while we got heroes evacuating and Rad and Enid searching for Gary, we'll also be seeing K.O., Red Action, and RMS tussle against this shapeshifting fiend as well, so let's see how this plays out, shall we? :D**

**also SEASON THREE CONFIRMED FELLOW FANS YEAH BOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIII**

**OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun).**

* * *

**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**CHAPTER FOUR: FEAR AT THE FIELD**

It wasn't long until Beardo, Drupe, and Brandon had helped gather together as many Lakewood Plaza Turbians lingering or hiding around the area he could find to help protect them from harm. So far, he managed to bring Gregg, Nick Army, Joff the Shaolin Monk, Mr. Logic, Colewort, Potato, Chameleon Jr., and Punching Judy altogether and were all safely taking refuge behind Beardo's overturned food truck.

They were all fortunately unharmed in spite of the mess the mimic had caused, but they were still scared and confused, all chattering worriedly amongst themselves about the drastic situation.

"Where the heck did this stupid mimic thing even come from!?" Chameleon Jr. hissed impatiently.

"Apparently, it must've snuck away from Mr. Gar's Bodega, but we still gotta stop it before the plaza goes under!" gasped Potato, "Question is, how!?"

"I mean, we could simply punch this mimic back to where it came from?" Punching Judy offered, clenching her boxing glove-wearing hand to prove her point. Nick Army frowned deeply.

"Punching isn't gonna work. I got some C-4 and napalm we can use to blow that sucker sky high, though!" Nick suggested. Joff solemnly shook his head.

"I'm afraid needless explosions aren't going to try and stop this menace, Nick." he replied sagely. Nick scoffed dismissively.

"Pssh, please, have you ever seen an action movie? Explosions solve _all_ of life's problems!" he boasted. Mr. Logic seemed to side with Joff's statement, meanwhile.

"Not exactly," corrected Mr. Logic, "An explosion constructed from too much napalm would be enough to wipe out the entire plaza, with us along with it…"

Nick rolled his eyes at the robot barber's explanation. "Spoilsports…" he muttered softly, crossing his arms.

"W-Well, then what're we gonna do!?" Colewort whimpered, still bandaged and bruised from his last run-in with the mimic. Gregg let out a tiny, frightened squawk right beside him, looking just as nervous as the others. Beardo groaned and tried his best to calm down the small crowd before things could get hectic.

"Everyone, _please_, settle yourselves down!" he ordered through his thick, gravelly, vague accent. That was enough to at least quiet down the group, but they still looked nervous and worried regardless as they let Beardo continue to speak out.

"Listen, this mimic is causing nothing but trouble around the plaza!" he rallied, "For now, we must take evasive action, so I'll be evacuating you lot away from plaza!" Incredulous and negative shouts were met by this demand.

"We're running away!?" Chameleon Jr. snapped in shock.

"Who says we should be running when we could be fighting that mimic ourselves!" Nick Army shouted back, pounding his fists in retaliation.

"I agree…" added Joff, acting much more civilly in comparison, "Surely, we should all be able to work together to fend off this menace from our home." Beardo shook his head gravelly.

"It's much too dangerous to fight. That mimic nearly made short work of me and the others, so I can't risk letting any of you get hurt!" insisted the goblin chef as persistently as he could be. Unfortunately, not everyone in the group were willing to side with him.

"C'mon, Beardo, it can't be that hard!" retorted Judy. Nick nodded and smirked assuringly.

"Yeah, I mean, if the whole plaza can join together and create a Level 100 fist to beat down a big ol' BoxMore 'Bot, then surely fighting one single mimic can't hurt!" he reminded. The rest of the small crowd seemed to agree with that statement as well.

"Yeah, let's do it, Beardo!"

"Let's fight this freak!"

"Indeed! If we team up, nothing should stop us!"

"Logically, we are destined to win."

"Squawk! Squawk!"

"I mean...I w-wouldn't mind running away…" Colewort shivered quietly amongst the cheers and shouts, rubbing away at the bandages and sores. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to acknowledge him.

Drupe and Brandon, both standing close by to let Beardo lead the group, decided to put their two cents into the situation. "I'm sorry, everyone, but it's for everyone's own good! That mimic's causing an absolute ruckus at the plaza!" Drupe insisted gravelly, trying to calm down the crowd in the process.

"Yeah, that thing tore up the iFrame store, made a mess at the coffee shop, and nearly kicked our butts in the process!" put in Brandon. Beardo nodded.

"The best way to deal with this mess is to find a safer place to stay in. Enid and Rad are recruiting someone to properly deal with mimic as we speak…" assured Beardo as civilly as he can. But still, the antsy crowd still weren't willing to run away just yet. Judy stepped up to try and reason with him.

"But, Beardo, we-"

"_No buts!_" Beardo cut in sharply, "We're not risking anyone getting hurt and that is _that!_" He then turned his back to tend to his overturned truck, "Now, everyone, help me get truck back on wheels again! We're leaving as soon as possible!" And then with that done, he, along with Drupe and Brandon, were soon trying to bring the large truck upright once again.

The other Lakewood heroes silently stood back and looked at each other in concern. No matter what they were gonna say, Beardo was just going to force them retreat to safety anyways. They wanted to stay and protect the plaza and their other friends; it _is_ practically their home after all!

And yet, if Beardo, a hard-edged and no-nonsense hero, was telling them to retreat instead of fighting back, they all knew this must be serious news then. Plus, after seeing and hearing about so much terror this mimic has caused to their home, maybe it'd be best if they sought shelter after all.

So, with no more complaints, the other heroes began assisting Beardo, Drupe, and Brandon in lifting the truck off its side and back on its wheels as to escape Lakewood Plaza from the clutches of this menacing mimic.

* * *

Meanwhile, the mimic had landed in a small open field located behind Lakewood Plaza, where a small gradient sloped downwards towards a grassy, vacant area that had been overall untouched for a long while.

Until now, that is…

Because of the mimic crash-landing in its fighter jet form, the impact had sent an explosion of grass, flowers, weeds, and clumps of dirts everywhere, leaving only a smoldering crater in the ground. The dust that was kicked up from the impact still lingered in the air, like a dirty, eerie fog. Everything was still and creepily silent.

And scarily enough, there didn't seem to be any sign of the mimic anywhere!

K.O., Real Magic Skeleton, and Red Action had hastily arrived to the scene and upon seeing such a sight, they all couldn't help but to grimace with worry.

"We gotta keep our sights nice and sharp, boys…" advised Red Action as she scanned across the field, looking for any trace of the mimic, "That little freak could be anywhere...or any_one_...or any_thing_…" RMS gulped and shivered as poor K.O. was seen hiding behind the skeleton for protection.

"There's no way it could've survived!" noted RMS shakily, "That mimic was a jet last time we saw it and it straight up crash-landed! Last I checked, jets don't make it out safely from crash-landings!" Red Action still stayed vigilant as her right arm retracted inside her cannon cufflink..

"Still doesn't mean that thing is dead, dude…" she replied, still looking down across the field for any trace of their foe, "Mimics are pretty resilient punks; they're like cockroaches, but only uglier…" She raised up her arm cannon, pointing it at the field, and then, ever so carefully, she began traipsing down the slope leading down towards the empty, though torn-up field. She turned back towards K.O. and RMS.

"Keep behind me, guys." she advised sternly, "I'm not losing the both of you on my watch."

Real Magic Skeleton and K.O. certainly didn't need to be told twice as they instantly hid behind Red Action as she crept down the small hill, soon reaching close to where the mimic had landed. RMS was cowering like mad upon having to take on a mimic head-on again, especially since his own magic failed to subdue the little shapeshifter beforehand. Red Action, meanwhile, was probably the most determined and calmest out of the three of them. Being a member of the Hue Troop, she knew she had to take situations like this seriously. She couldn't risk having her friends get hurt or tormented for any longer, and death was certainly _not_ an option right now. All she could do right now is continue to scan the area in search for the mimic.

And lastly, poor little K.O. was doing his darnedest to stay as brave as possibly can throughout this entire venture. Although he certainly did feel safe knowing Red Action and Real Magic Skeleton were with him and that they'd have his back, K.O. dearly wished that Radicles and Enid were with him as well right now. He knew he had to be brave for them, as well as the rest of the plaza's heroes, but he still couldn't help but to hold a sliver of fear inside of him. This mimic wasn't pulling any punches, so to fight this thing without his best friends frightened him greatly. But still, he kept soldiering on after RMS and Red, continually staying as brave as he can be while internally reminding himself to keep his spirits up.

'_It's gonna be okay, K.O.. It's gonna be okay…_' he thought to himself as a means to stay positive, even though he was feeling too scared to think about positivity right now.

Not long after, the trio had managed to steadily approach closer to the crater, which was still emitting smoke and dust long after the mimic had crashed. Red Action cautiously peered inside the hole below her to see if their mimic was still hiding, but instead, all they found was dark brown smoke pouring out. She frowned deeply in thought.

"That mimic's probably still in this crater...probably to get the drop on us…" she assumed softly. Real Magic Skeleton gulped with increasing nervousness.

"I-Isn't there an easier way to take down this mimic, Red?" RMS asked worriedly, "We're taking a crazy shapeshifter head-on, you know!?". K.O. seemed to agree with the skeleton's statement, though he had a more approachable and peaceful idea in his belt.

"Yeah...maybe we can try and talk to it...y'know, to see why it's so angry?" K.O.'s innocent reply was certainly filled with optimism (in spite of his worried tone), but the only reaction he got from Red was one of graveness.

"I doubt talking with this thing ain't gonna do much, kid...look, if we don't stop this thing, it'll probably not only destroy Lakewood Plaza, but the rest of Lakewood as well," Red Action countered seriously, "and then, it'll target all of the Neutral Zone, then the Danger Zone and beyond! We ain't lettin' this mimic to do such a thing!"

Suddenly, just after Red Action finished speaking…

"Mm-hm-hm-hm-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...my, my, what an insightful, little lass…"

Red's eyes boggled out of their sockets from the eerie sound of that voice, fully knowing whom it belonged to. RMS and K.O. gasped and hid closer to Red Action for protection at the sound of that voice. Red snapped her neck back into the smoky crater to discover something that has appeared inside the gaping, smog-emitting hole.

A pair of bright yellow, evil, and leering eyes piercing through the smoke.

Red Action gulped and felt sweat trickle down her face, but she still stood strong and defiant against the foe a few feet below her. Her cannon still aimed towards inside the crater, Red spoke up angrily.

"Alright, you pink gremlin!" she growled, "Show yourself before I blast ya to bits!" The voice inside the crater simply chuckled back.

"Heh, such persistence and power from a firecracker like you...I'm actually impressed you've managed to shoot me down in the first place...that takes an awful lot of skill, my cherry red challenger…" the voice praised. Its tone was low, with traces of genuine pride and admiration. Red, however, wasn't planning to back down yet.

"Look, just quietly and civilly get out of that hole and I promise I won't turn ya into Swiss cheese, mimic!" she warned, slowly ready to charge up her cannon. RMS quivered and quaked from behind the Hue Trooper as he spoke up himself.

"Wh-Wh-Why are you doing this to us!?" he asked with a scared stutter, looking carefully inside the crater, "What h-have we done to cause you to h-hurt us!?" The voice inside the hole growled softly.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know, bonehead?" it sneered in disgust, "As if I'd tell you…" K.O., whom was just as frightened as his skeleton friend, also tried to put his two cents into the problem as well.

"Please, Mr. Mimic!" he called worriedly into the crater from behind Real Magic Skeleton, "I'm sure whatever's upsetting you can be resolved if we can just cooperate together!" His plea, however, only fell onto deaf ears as the creature in the hole simply scoffed.

"Feh, 'cooperation'!? Such an odd word to use from somebody like _you_, child!" it snapped as its eyes started to glow brighter in anger. Red Action raised an eyebrow in puzzlement at that weird statement as she slightly turned her head back to K.O., while also not trying to let her guard down at the mimic as well.

"Kiddo, what's this thing talkin' about?" she asked, her cannon still aimed downwards at the hidden creature. K.O. blinked twice. He was just as confused himself about what the mimic had cryptically stated.

"...I-I-I don't know, Red…" he murmured softly, his eyes wide with lack of certainty. Red, however, couldn't dwell on that for now, as she still had a mimic to lure out. She turned her full attention back into the hole.

"Listen, you have one last chance to surrender before things get nasty!" barked out Red Action importantly. The mimic, meanwhile, still wasn't willing to follow through with her threat.

"HA! As if I'd surrender to the likes of you! You along with Papyrus and Kid Goku back there just wanna keep me away from enjoying my freedom! For too long have I been trapped in that lousy stockroom, fending for myself by living off of scraps of food, with having _no one_ to speak to! It's simply _maddening!_" it screeched, the venom in its voice rising to a boil.

Red simply scowled as she kept her cannon aimed in the hole, her patience wearing thinner by the second. Seems like this mimic still isn't going to cooperate anytime soon. "Bub, ya got three seconds to get outta that hole before I shoot ya! Three!" she snapped out in irritation.

***WHIIIRRRR!*** went her arm cannon as it steadily began to charge up a shot. RMS and K.O. continued to do their best to hide behind Red as not to get caught in the impending explosion.

"Two!"

The mimic peered up at the gung-ho Red Action with rising fury, its eyes and scowl glowing dangerously. If these three bozo were going to continue ruining its fun, then so be it.

"_Big mistake, missy…_" it hissed quietly to itself as Red's charged shot was now ready to fire down, with the Hue Trooper now finalizing her warning.

"_ONE!_"

Suddenly, everything happened at once.

"GRRRRRRR-_RRAAAARGGHHHHH!_" ***WHOOOOSH!***

The mimic had managed to finally exit the crater, but _not_ in a civil and calm manner. Instead, the trio of heroes were flummoxed and blown off their feet as something bulky and muscle-bound practically flew out of the crater, blowing away any more smoke and dust out of the hole before the creature landed back down on the ground after performing such an unexpected jump.

Then again, with a new, powerful form that the mimic has taken on now, it's not that surprising to say the least.

Red Action, K.O., and Real Magic Skeleton gazed upwards in utter shock to see a large, pink gorilla with a yellow mouth and eyes menacingly lurched in front of them. The mimic snorted and growled deeply in its large, new shape, clenching its large, vice-like hands with vengeance. It soon began digging its feet in the ground, indicating it was ready to charge right at the three heroes, even with Red's cannon still warming up.

"Let's see you capture me _now_…" it snarled deviously before suddenly letting out a manic, monkey-like shriek afterwards. "_OOH-OOH-OOH-OOH-RARGH-RARGH-RARGH-RARGH-__**RRAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!**_"

Red Action, RMS, and K.O. held their ears from such a loud, spine-chilling noise as it echoed across the whole plaza, but still, it wasn't enough to cause them to flee, especially not Red Action.

"I guess it's on like Donkey Kong then…" she mused sharply, now pointing her cannon more down around her feet while she squatted down. Then, in a single bound, she let out a charged blast on the ground that helped her jump high in the air by at least 30 to 35 feet and then, without any warning, she fired her cannon down four times down towards where the mimic was below.

***PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW!***

A quartet of charged plasma energy blasts began to rain down straight at the mimic, but unfortunately, using its newfound strength, the mimic used its gorilla arms to smash them down on the ground hard enough to propel him up in the air as well from force, thus avoiding Red's energy shots completely as they exploded on the ground close by the crater.

***KA-BOOM!*** "Cob-darnit!"

Red growled and cursed to herself as her shots were missed entirely. However, in that span of time while still hovering in the air from her super-jump, the mimic managed to jump up to her exact height in the air and then, with a mighty swing…

***SMACK!*** "_YEOWCH!_"

...Red Action wound up getting back-handed harshly by the mimic, sending her plummeting and spiraling down to the ground at an alarming rate. She was so overcome with shock by the sudden attack, she hardly had a chance to save herself from falling. Real Magic Skeleton and K.O. gasped in horror, their pupils shrinking upon seeing their friend get downed so suddenly. Any minute now, Red could fall to her doom if either of them didn't do something ASAP!

Luckily, K.O. had managed to think up a rescue plan of his own. Holding up his right fist, he too began charging his signature attack: his power fist move. His arm and balled-up hand shined a healthy shade of blue upon building up enough strength so that K.O. can commence with his plan.

"Hang on, Red!" he called, "I'm coming!" And, with a mighty effort...

"RRAAARGH!" ***POW!*** ***BOOM!*** ***WHOOOSH!***

K.O. punched the ground hard enough to send him skyward as well, leaving a trail of dust and a stunned RMS behind on the earth below as he spotted Red Action up in the sky ahead. Luckily, his impromptu punch helped him jump just high enough to soar up to where Red was falling ungracefully before just then…

"_I got you, Red!_"

...K.O. was able to grab Red Action carefully and tightly enough to stop spinning and twirling about during his plummet as he began making his own safer descent down on the ground. In no time, K.O. found himself gruning with mild pain as he roughly landed on both his shoeless feet onto safe ground again, with the fear-frozen Red Action held firmly in his arms. RMS, whom was surprised by such an act as K.O. landed not too far from him, ran up to the two heroes to check up on them.

The young hero in question breathed heavily to himself. He wasn't hurt, aside from a bit of pain spiking down at his knees from such a rough landing, but right now, he was happy that Red Action was now safe and sound...if not a little shocked. He looked down at Red with worried, caring eyes.

"A-Are you okay, Red?" he asked gingerly. Red Action managed to finally break away from her stupor to finally process what happened. Her left cheek was a bit red from the mimic's brash slap, and while it certainly did sting, Red was still overall okay health-wise. Although, she was also surprised that K.O. of all people came to her rescue.

"Y-Yeah...I think so…" she murmured, still in mild shock. Real Magic Skeleton soon arrived to the scene, his teeth and bones chattering wildly.

"Holy Corn, Red! Are you okay!?" he cried out. Red exhaled softly out of relief, the feeling of surprise finally exiting her systems and mind.

"I am now, thanks to K.O.." she commented before turning her head back to the boy, "Nice save, kiddo. I knew I could count on you…" she said with a genuinely-proud smirk. K.O. blushed modestly at Red Action, glad to have saved her right away.

Unfortunately, before any more friendly notions could be made, the trio had nearly forgotten about their foe as it came soaring downwards at them from high above.

"STAY OUT OF THIS, YOU LITTLE WORM!" came an anger-filled roar in the sky. Red, RMS, and K.O. gasped and yelled in surprise as the mimic's gorilla form was now mere feet above them, frothing at the mouth in pure, unchained rage.

Red's eyes widened in horror while she was still in K.O.'s arms. "We gotta scatter!" she ordered hastily.

But sadly, none of them had the time to react as suddenly, with a thunderous BOOM, the mimic gorilla smashed down on the ground close by the three and then, raising up its right arm, it swung it straight at Red Action and K.O., whom were both still frozen in horror upon the mimic's grand entrance.

Their lack of perfect timing soon sent them huddling rapidly towards the open back area of the plaza's stores. The two then braced for impact.

***CLATTER!*** "OWIE!" K.O. cried as he was roughly smacked away far enough to land inside of an open trash can filled with smelly garbage. K.O., luckily, wasn't hurt, but he certainly was stuck at the moment.

Red Action, however, hadn't gone off any easier to where she wound up crashing into, exactly.

***SMASH!*** ***CRUNCH!*** "GAH! MY BACK!"

Red had been thrown back-first right into a large, closed, metal garage door harsh enough to actually leave a human-sized dent into it! Red groaned in pain as she limply peeled herself out from the door and wound up stumbling face-first on the hard pavement. And unfortunately, her woes weren't finished just yet.

The severe impact Red had made with the garage door had managed to damage some of the mechanism's moorings, loosening up the door from its hinges. And sadly, it wasn't long until the loose garage door began to tip forwards…

***CLANG!*** "_OW!_"

...and fall right on top of Red Action, trapping her under the metal door's weight.

"ERR, OH, COME ON!" Red snarled, currently more infuriated than hurt. With the unhinged, heavy door now well and truly clamped onto her body and arms, Red furiously and frantically tried her best to wiggle free to stop this mimic, but alas, it was proving to be fruitless. Any minute now if she didn't try to break free, this mimic is going to curb-stomp herself and her friends!

Amidst her struggle, she then spotted one lone hero left in the far-off field, looking like a scared and lost puppy in the open throughout all this. She growled, still trying to push the large door off her back while additionally hoping to get this certain hero's attention.

"RMS! HELP US!" she yelled out in a strained voice.

Real Magic Skeleton was still left standing in the field, gobsmacked by how easily K.O. and Red have been simply pushed aside like that. He trembled and sweated out of increasing fear, gazing at his downed friends from behind the plaza. "GUYS!" he wailed out, now attempting to run up and assist his friends.

But no sooner had he planned to finally get his rear in gear...

"MOVE ASIDE, BONE-HEAD!" ***SMACK!*** "GAAAAHHHHHHH!"

RMS, too, found himself struck by the mimic with just a single smack across the backside, the connection of the punch so hard and sudden that the skeleton man wound up going to pieces, literally. His detached head and body parts flew across the field, although, due to how light he was compared to Red Action and even K.O., poor RMS ultimately wound up soaring over the back area and somewhere towards the _front_ of Lakewood Plaza instead and out of sight!

The mimic gazed at its handiwork with demented bliss. With one hero now out of the scene and two others pinned down and helpless, maybe now its chance for revenge can be fulfilled once and for all.

The shapeshifting creature slowly stomped over to the confined and cornered Red Action closer behind the plaza, a look of devious intent glistening in its eyes. Red desperately continued to try and lift the door off her, but the metal sheet was deemed too heavy to do so right now. She was feeling too sore from being smacked around twice in a row to muster up the strength to free herself.

And with a bloodthirsty mimic lurking towards her, Red Action would soon be truly in a heap of trouble...

As the Hue Trooper thrashed powerlessly under the cumbersome, metal sheet, the mimic (still in its gorilla form) smirked devilishly down at her, cracking its large knuckles with demented delight.

'Silly little girl, did you seriously think you were a match against me?" crooned the mimic loftily, "You may be wearing _red_, my dear...but to me, you're just as _yellow_ as your pathetic friends!" Red Action snarled furiously, drool and a single, tiny trail of blood pouring out from her mouth.

"You're not...getting...away with this, _freak!_" she aggressively vowed, wishing both her arms were free from under the door's wright so she can just blast this mimic for once. The mimic chortled haughtily.

"Ho-ho-ho-ho! But I have!" it corrected smugly, "I've already incapacitated you, that useless bone-bag, and that worthless little child, so what else is there to stop me?"

Red Action frowned in determination. "We still got plenty of...ugh...heroes here at the plaza to...err...stop you…" she countered, straining through her pain and discomfort. Once again, the mimic snorted with prideful laughter.

"PAH! Those clowns!? They aren't fit to defend this run-down shopping center against a godly being such as myself!" boasted the mimic in such a self-righteous manner, "I mean, a stoned-out bear, a muscle-bound alien braggart, a flouncy strawberry teen, and an emotionless, dead-weight cashier chick? That's what you call a real team of defenders!?"

As the mimic began divulging into another fit of cackles, Red Action snarled in absolute rage upon hearing the shapeshifter say such insulting words towards her friends, Enid especially above everybody else.

"Don't you _dare_ insult Enid or anyone of my friends like that! Enid is _not_ dead-weight or emotionless!" she barked venomously, spitting out a small mixture of spit and blood on the ground. The mimic paused its laughter to look down at Red with mock intrigue.

"Oh, I say, perhaps somebody here has an..._admiration_ towards one of her friends, no?" it cooed thoughtfully, "Mayhaps a...a crush of some sort? Heh-heh-heh, how droll…"

Red Action huffed furiously, her face glowing as red as armor in both anger and embarrassment. She wasn't going to give this mimic the satisfaction of a correct answer. "I don't have to answer to you, freak…" she crossly groused, but the mimic was undeterred.

"You don't need to, sweetheart. I can read you like a book. A bright red book…" replied the mimic, "Soon after I end you and that boy back there, the rest of your friends will be next in line! In due time, you'll join your _girlfriend_ in the afterlife…"

Red still tried her hardest to break free, but fatigue was slowly settling down on her. Her body ached and her mind was pounding from both pain and thoughts of getting offed by a mimic of all things. Reminders of not being able to see Enid or any of her friends again, whether at Lakewood Plaza Turbo or in the Hue Troop, haunted her greatly, but even then, she didn't want to give up.

She had to stay strong.

For Lakewood Plaza.

For her friends.

For Enid.

She kept wiggling about under the garage door, glaring up at the mimic before her with unfaltering determination. "You'll never...win…" she defied in a low, brave voice, trying not to let the garage door crush her spirit as well as her body.

The mimic, uncaring for Red's plight and devotion, smirked widely in response. "I've already won, dear…"

And with that, the mimic raised up a hulking fist, which slowly began to shape itself into a new weapon of choice: a large and sharp sickle.

Red's face paled to a ghostly white color at the sight of this weapon, and with her head sticking from under the door and her limbs rendered stuck at the moment, she knew she was soon to meet a grisly end. She still tried to loosen the door off of herself, but it was still no use at all!

The mimic smirked maliciously at the fallen and trapped Hue Trooper below its feet failing to escape, now slowly ready to raise up its scythed hand to strike immediately down upon poor, defenseless Red. But, miraculously for Red and unfortunately for the mimic, it didn't have a chance to do the dirty deed to her as something suddenly distracted its thoughts

***CLATTER!*** ***CLUNK!*** "Oof!"

A resounding, metallic crashing noise occurred behind the mimic, managing to gain his attention as it ceased its chance to off Red Action to find something else. A small, familiar child stumbling out of a trash can that has also tipped over while he was trying to climb out of it. Bits of assorted garbage scattered everywhere, some even clinging in the boy's thick haircut as he coughed weakly, sprawled on the ground tiredly.

The mimic's smirk soon grew into more of a pleased, evil grin instead upon scanning the boy. The boy who'd caused so much grief and pain in its life.

Perhaps revenge should be best reserved for this child instead of towards this young woman instead?

The mimic slowly turned away from Red Action, whom in question has managed to open an eye quick enough to see the boy do his best to summon every little ounce of strength and energy to pick himself back up again. She gasped in sudden horror; who knows what this mimic can do to such a small kid?

And if he didn't act quickly, he'd meet the same fate she'd would be subject to facing as well!

"K.O.! Get outta here...ugh...fast!" she tried to warn with the door constrained on her sore backside, but K.O. was too dazed and exhausted to act that fast. The mimic snickered with devious intent.

"Looks like we have someone who's as determined and stubborn as _you_, girl…" the mimic uttered with interest. Even though the shapeshifter never bothered to lock eyes back with her, Red Action still gave it the most threatening glare ever done by anyone ever.

"Don't you dare touch one hair on that kid!" she forbid with a snarl, but the mimic didn't care to listen. It simply changed its form from scythe-wielding gorilla to an unarmed, regular humanoid form as quick as a wink.

Now, with its more normal and non-threatening body, the mimic waltzed up towards where K.O. was, whom in question was slowly beginning to return back to consciousness just to see the mimic now hovering above him, a dour frown etched across its face.

A devious idea swam around the mimic's mind. Perhaps a bit of psychological torment will help to crush the boy's spirits before it itself decided to end him.

The mimic tsked tepidly to himself. "Tsk, tsk, tsk...hmph…" it hummed lowly, "Such a weak display…"

K.O., still somewhat woozy from his less-than-perfect landing, shook away the dizziness in his brain to eventually recollect his thoughts and clear vision, only to yelp in shock at seeing the mimic strolling ominously straight towards him. However, in spite of the fear coursing through his veins, K.O. didn't want to give up to this fiend just yet!

With some effort, K.O. carefully got up off the ground and back on his two feet, though with a bit of grogginess still flowing through his mind and senses. After a bit of leg wobbling and weak coughing, K.O. stared down the mimic eye-to-eye in hopes to show that the boy wasn't going to give up.

"M-Mr. Mimic!" K.O. began with a voice as bold as he could try to muster, "I must advise you to stand down right now, please…I don't want to have to fight you…"

At first, the mimic's face was simply blank as it stood there in silence hearing K.O.'s civilized and brave proclamation. Suddenly, its mouth morphed into a devious smirk. Then, the mimic hummed out a nasty snicker. K.O. dared not to speak upon seeing the mimic loom over him, giving him a snide expression.

"You seriously think _you_ can stop _me_, little boy?" the mimic asked with a taunting voice, "A puny, little 6 to 11-year-old, legwarmer-wearing brat against _moi_, an ultra-powerful shapeshifter!? PAH! Don't make me laugh, kid!" K.O. felt his heart skip a few beats from the mimic's barbs, but he still wouldn't back down.

K.O. would be lying if he said he still wanted to fight this mimic. This particular mimic seemed just as persistent and violent than the last mimic he fought some months ago, possibly even more so! Its reflexes and skills were quickly-paced and top-notch, and no matter what, this mimic didn't want to go down without a fight!

But K.O., being a resourceful little hero, wasn't one to give up that quickly. If physical fighting won't work this time, he'll have to confront this mimic in another fashion.

'_If I can't fight him...I'll have to try a different approach…_' thought K.O., an idea forming in his brain.

Slowly, but surely, K.O. kept his stance nice and levelled, his breathing steady and smooth, and he made sure to look the mimic squarely into his eyes, to prove that he was being extra serious. He took in the deepest breath of air that his little lungs could take in, right before exhaling it all out.

"Mr. Mimic…" K.O. began importantly, enough for the mimic to actually stop in its tracks and gaze down at him with its full attention, "I don't know exactly why you want to hurt us, nor why you are planning to destroy our plaza, but it doesn't have to be this way…"

The mimic raised an eyebrow down at K.O., its facial expression slowly changing from malice to mild confusion. Regardless, it stayed still and quiet as K.O. continued to try and talk the mimic down with kindness and open arms instead of brute violence.

"You don't have to go on a rampage because you're upset, Mr. Mimic…" soothed K.O. in the most calmest tone of voice he'd ever made, "You can simply just talk it out with somebody, you know...tell them why you're feeling like this and they'd be willing to help you out in return...so that way, you won't be hurting anymore…"

Judging by the sad expression currently shown evident on the mimic's face, K.O. began to feel that he may actually be succeeding in finding a way to fully cease the shapeshifter's horrid actions for good. Even Red Action, still trapped under the door on the ground, was surprised to see K.O. managing (and possibly triumphing) to ease the mimic down in a calm and peaceful fashion.

But unfortunately, as noble and well-meaning K.O.'s speech was going so far, he just _had_ to utter one certain word at one point just as he was bringing his pleaing speech to an end.

"Maybe...you can discuss these negative feelings to me and...well...instead of being enemies, we can try and be _friends_ instead?"

The mimic's right eye began to twitch viciously, as if it was about to burst like a water balloon. It then let out a growl, which slowly turned into strangled gurgling noise. Its mauve-colored body shivered violently. K.O. and Red Action both watched this scene before them with fear and confusion. They thought that the mimic was going to wind up having a seizure or would contract rabies or something.

At last, the mimic managed to calm itself down completely, but not before giving K.O. the most nastiest and most deadly glare ever conceived by man (or mimic). It stared down little K.O., its hollow, yellow eyes glowing bright with ire.

"Be friends...with _YOU!?_" it snarled, clenching its fists with disdain, "Why would I want to be friends with a _murderer_ like you!?"

K.O.'s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates at that word. '_Murderer?_' he gasped internally, '_What the dang heck is this guy talking about?_'

"I-I-I'm not sure what you mean, M-Mr. Mimic!" stammered K.O. defensively, "I don't know why'd you s-see me as a m-m-murderer!" The mimic scowled deeper as its tone grew more hostile.

"Don't play dumb with me, shortstack! Besides, who'd straight up want to be friends with someone like _you_ anyways!?" it asked with utmost scorn, "You're nothing but a weak, uninspired pest that gets in everybody's way!"

Those words suddenly hit K.O. like a sack of bricks. Weak? Uninspired? Pest?

"...Wh-What?" gasped K.O. frightfully eventually. The mimic sneered in pure disgust.

"You heard me...a useless little tagalong who's good for one thing: being an utter _**nuisance!**_"

K.O. shuddered with fright, wrought with denial and subdued fear to hear such nasty words directed towards him. The mimic's tone of voice was laced with nothing but acidic venom that hit practically hurt its throat upon speaking in such a rough and furious tone, but the mimic didn't care. Nothing was going to stop it from taking fun in deriding K.O. helplessly.

Red Action snarled from her spot on the ground, barking in rage at the mimic.

"HEY! Leave him out of this, you pink freak!" Red Action yelled out angrily, still trying to pry herself free from under the heavy door. "Pick on someone your own size!"

The mimic turned its head back towards the pinned-down Hue Trooper with a scowling frown, right before it gave her a devious grin.

"Actually, I already am…" it stated matter-of-factly. Just then, the mimic began molding its form once again, going from a lumbering, massive gorilla into a much shorter, smaller form. Even with its body glowing during its transformation process, Red Action could still see what the mimic was turning into just as it finished turning itself into another iconic form.

An exact copy of K.O..

Red Action stared in subdued silence at this moment, silently cursing to herself for making such a literal statement. As she was doing so, the mimic inspected its new young, but stocky body with disappointment and disgust.

"Feh, such a weak, feeble body! Skinny legs, chunky arms, a thick torso? So disproportionate! How do you even get around with such a top-heavy body like this!? Also, legwarmers and a vest combo!? Ugh, terrible fashion sense to boot!" the mimic chided, unimpressed and disapprovingly.

K.O. stared in horror to see another copy of him just standing there, insulting his own self in such a mocking, sarcastic manner that it sent a metaphorical stake through his heart. Was he considered a weak, pesky nuisance, and was his "disproportionate" body really letting him down, and did he always get in the way of his friends?

On top of that, is that what his own friends think about him?

Honestly, he didn't think so, but to hear the mimic spout such malice-filled barbs like that wasn't doing any good to his self-esteem, even if they were all false to begin with.

Regardless, K.O. still had to stay vigilant and strong-willed. "M-Mimic, I know what you are saying is completely untrue! I have friends that do care about me and I do see myself as a strong hero. I'm already Level 3, so you know I've been really working hard to prove myself as a good hero by now! I'm not going to let your mean words get to me!"

K.O. had hoped his own words would knock some sense into the mimic's head, but to his dismay, the mimic only responded with a sly, Grinch-like smirk.

"It doesn't matter what Power Level you possess, child...at the end of the day, you're nothing but a spoilt, little brat who's always playing second-banana to much better, stronger, and more worthy heroes!"

K.O. scowled at both the mimic's persistence and armor-piercing insults, still doing his absolute hardest to keep his stance and bravery levelled, but even K.O. found his self-worth being shattered little by little by such harsh words.

"I am _not_ a spoiled brat! I am a _hero!_" insisted the young boy loudly, but just as he said that, the mimic suddenly got up into his face with a furious sneer.

"_**You are a fool and a killer, that's what you are, boy!**_" the mimic roared directly at K.O.. Its eyes glowed red with righteous rage as it began exhaling its hot breath through its sharp, barred teeth into K.O.'s fright-laced face.

K.O. took in great discomfort upon having an evil copy of himself screaming and mocking towards him right in his own face, as if he was looking into an evil mirror of sorts. Just as he thought he had the mimic under wraps with his speech, poor K.O. found himself still being subjected to the shapeshifting creature's nasty-sounding and venom-laced insults once more. K.O. nearly felt the need to shed some tears from how hurtful these words were, but he still didn't want to look weak in front of the mimic, as if to prove its point.

He was a hero...heroes shouldn't be able to cry...or as though he thought.

K.O.'s frown deepened into that of pure and unstaggering seriousness. His eyes were glassy from any built-up tears trapped in his eyelids and his cheeks were red from both embarrassment and exhaustion, but it'd be a cold day in Heck if he planned on surrendering to this body-morphing bully. He glared back into the mimic's hateful eyes, trying to match his frown as best as he could.

"I...am _not_ weak…" he emphasized calmly and boldly, staring daggers into the mimic, "I am a _hero!_ Heroes aren't meant to be fools or killers! We do what is right so that we can protect our friends, family, and other innocent people from bullies and monsters like _you!_ I know my own friends do appreciate me and that they see me as a true hero...not as a second-banana!"

The mimic snorted through its nose holes, letting out a soft, guttural growl in response to K.O.'s persistence. However, while K.O. was expecting the mimic to try and stand down now, it came as a shock to the boy when the mimic began flashing him a devious, tricky grin that spread across its pink-colored face.

A nasty idea began swimming around in the mimic's twisted mind, indicating that it wasn't done pestering this boy just yet. '_Your own friends see you as a true hero, huh?_' it repeated in its head amusingly, '_How cute…_'

"Is that so, child?" the mimic tittered aloud as its K.O.-shaped body began to glow once more, indicating that it was beginning to mold itself into another new form.

Before K.O. knew it, a chainlink of flat, paper dolls (six to be precise) had appeared and had all conjoined together and began surrounding him like a circular fence, leaving the scared child no chance to escape. K.O. gasped and his eyes went wide with terror. All six of the paper doll heads suddenly began cackling in unison, a cacophony of malicious laughter echoing around the area, sending shivers and spikes of fear to course through K.O.'s fear-frozen body. The mimic, still laughing in its new fence-like form down at K.O., giddily smirked knowing that the boy is slowly breaking down from being brave to being emotionally torn up.

Tormenting this poor kid was really shaping up to be a great hobby for this shapeshifter.

K.O. looked in every direction above him, only to see half-a-dozen pink heads cackling down at him with glee. His hands and legs trembled like leaves and he felt like he knees were ready to stop working from how paralyzed with fear he was. Red Action, watching the scene before her in utter horror, now tried extra hard to free herself to save her little friend, but still, the door wasn't planning to budge just yet as the mimic began to throw more barbs down at the boy.

"HA-HA-HA-HA! Child, I told you that you haven't the strength or skills to stop me! _Nobody_ in this accursed plaza sees you as a great hero! Not your family, not your boss, and most certainly not those other losers that you claim to be _friends_ with!" taunted one of the mimic heads in a loud and mocking manner. K.O. growled angrily, ultimately falling on his weak knees from how shook up he was.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" K.O. countered, loud enough to try and make his voice heard throughout the snide laughter, but with no such luck. Another one of the paper doll heads spoke down at K.O. with demonic glee.

"It _is_ true, child..._you are __**nothing!**_" it cackled, "What would your friends say or do upon seeing you cower like a little baby right now?"

K.O., still trying to block out the mimic's unbearable laughter and insults, couldn't have predicted what was to happen next. Suddenly, he noticed one of the six paper doll heads beginning to change into something else…

Something familiar-looking…

It wasn't looking until the head turned itself into a larger head with a loud popping noise, complete with a cat-like smile, pointy ears, poofy hair, and two antennas poking up on the top. K.O. stared in complete and utter terror to see one of the heads now exactly transformed in Radicles' own head! And, much to K.O.'s fright, the head began to gloat down at him just like the mimic was doing before.

"Heh, get a load of this little punk! All cowering like a sad, little puppy...what a little baby..." the Rad head mocked with a voice exact to the blue, boastful alien it was masquerading as.

K.O. began welling up with scared tears to hear such harsh words flow from "Rad's" mouth, even if it wasn't the real deal. Not long after that, another head then turned into another one of K.O.'s friends, this time of a certain female with a short ponytail.

***POP!***

"I can't believe we're friends with this dork! Are we _really_ that desperate!?" cracked the Enid head, its voice filled with so much snark akin to the original cashier teen's own tone.

***POP!***

Te another head immediately popped up next to the Enid head, its tone and expressions just as snarky and deriding as the other two.

"Hmph, to think this little brat wants to be a real hero! HA! What a joke!" teased the Red Action head with a snigger. K.O. trembled like a leaf. He clamped his ears shut and closed his eyes tightly, hoping not to see or hear anymore potentially-false remarks being thrown at him.

"Stop it! Stop it, please!" he begged with an upset cry, trying not to let the mimic see him produce anymore tears, but the mimic didn't care. The three heads of his friends kept laughing in mockery just as three more heads of K.O.'s friends began to manifest on the last three doll heads.

***POP-POP-POP!***

"Ha! What an utter joke of a hero!" chortled the Real Magic Skeleton head with utter glee.

"Nothing but a stupid, little crybaby!" mocked the Drupe head in such a dominant and teasing voice.

"Just a loser with a lousy dream!" the Brandon head sneered with a low chuckle.

K.O. couldn't have felt more helpless and weak even if he had tried. His plans and hopes to stay brave for his friends were all dashed. He honestly didn't care if these heads were only just mere copies of his own friends, he just wanted these insults and harmful comments to just end already! Fresh, warm, and sad tears flowed freely down his cheeks as K.O. began choking out sobs, helpless as the mimic began shouting out more heart-wrenching verbal abuse straight at him.

"_Weak!_" mocked the Enid head.

"_Pitiful!_" shrilled the Red Action head.

"_Worthless!_" bellowed the Radicles head.

"_Cowardly!_" rasped the RMS head.

"_Puny!_" cackled the Drupe head.

"_Babyish!_" sneered the Brandon head.

K.O. couldn't take any more of this for any longer! Even if these heads weren't actually of his friends, their biting and mocking words still buzzing around his mind like angry bees, and they certainly weren't planning on ceasing anytime soon. The young hero tried not to let those mocking insults get to him, but it was no use at all. He felt his confidence shrink down to nothingness and his will was now crumbled to pieces. He didn't care if these heads were of his actual friends or from some twisted mimic, he just wanted this madness to end right this second!

Layman's terms, he wasn't feeling brave anymore.

"_LEAVE ME ALONE! SHUT UP! PLEASE!_" he wailed out in defiance, still huddled on the ground with his hands clenched over his ears.

But alas, it proved to be useless as the heads simply cackled and guffawed even louder, tormenting K.O. even more than before. Between this and not having Rad and Enid with him at the moment, poor K.O. found himself completely hopeless and lost as the mimic kept deriding him cruelly.

Red Action, meanwhile, was having enough of this nonsense! Nobody was going to torment her friend like this, mimic or not!

"_K.O., don't listen to that freak!_" she ordered loudly in hopes to get K.O. to hear her.

But alas, K.O. could only cower in complete, bone-freezing fear, fully immersed in his own horrified stupor to listen to the outside world. The only things K.O. could only bother to hear was the mimic and the slew of back-to-back insults it kept throwing at him every second.

"_Urchin!_"

"_Weakling!_"

"_Whiner!_"

"_Loser!_"

"_Dork!_"

"_Twerp!_"

The insults kept firing non-stop towards the helpless boy, sending his emotions to go completely haywire as Red Action still tried to free herself to save K.O., but sadly, the heavy garage door was still firmly clamped down on her body, immobilizing her to the ground.

K.O., meanwhile, could only cry louder and longer, unable to shield himself from the mimic's volume-breaking laughter and contempt, especially as all six of the heads began shouting out one more raucous remark that pierced K.O.'s soul like a knife.

"_What a pathetic, little __**failure!**_"

That one punch to K.O.'s self-esteem was enough to cause the boy to be at his breaking point. Tears streamed down his red cheeks like waterfalls and poor K.O. couldn't ever hear his own thoughts due to the increasingly-loud and hate-filled shouts thrown at him, let alone being able to hear Red Action telling him not to listen to the mimic.

However, as the mimic's insults were still piling up, one after another, K.O. felt something discomforting stewing inside his gut…

Something he'd never thought he'd have to deal with again so soon.

An inner demon if you will. Like a bad angel on your shoulder telling you to let loose your bad side so that it can take care of everything in your place, begging to be free once again.

Purple jolts of electricity suddenly began coursing and conducting around K.O.'s body out of nowhere, as if he was getting charged up for an ultra-powerful attack. K.O.'s teeth gnashed painfully and his balled-up fists clenched to the point of turning blood red.

With the mimic continuing to deride him with no way of stopping, K.O. could only utter out one command.

"...enough…"

The mimic cackled non-stop, not bothering to grant his wish. "Stupid, little baby!"

"Enough." K.O. repeated, slightly louder.

"Worthless failure! HA-HA-HA-HA!" the mimic rasped out again. K.O. snarled furiously, drool trickling down his chin.

"_Enough!_" he barked out even louder.

The mimic let out the biggest, loudest laugh ever made, taking in great delight of crushing K.O.'s hopes, dreams, and self-esteem. K.O. trembled violently with both sadness and rage, his reddened face wet from all the tears, sweat, and drool he produced. He had no way to block out any words that the mimic was throwing at him, which only made him feel more helpless and scared by the second.

Part of him wanted to throw in the towel after being subjected to all this torture, but then...he felt another part of him telling him otherwise.

Another part of him that K.O. hadn't dealt with in a little while. The ultra-violent and more edgy part of him.

In fact, while this was happening, K.O felt his darker counterpart attempting to take control of his systems as a means to teach this mimic a lesson. Honestly, K.O. really didn't want to bring _him_ into the fray, as the Lakewood heroes already had their hands full with a mimic roaming around their home, but his innocent side was overwhelmed by his dark side, whom was practically demanding to take control of K.O.'s senses so that he can deal with this problem himself.

K.O. internally pleaded for the dark half to not resort to this, but the young hero was too overcome with grief to come up with a way to defend himself, now leaving the dark side to freely dominate K.O.'s mind.

The boy shivered at the incoming transformation. A dark purple aura encircled the boy like a wafting stench, indicating that K.O.'s good half was now sidelined for this bad side. The mimic didn't seem to be aware of this, it just simply resumed laughing and insulting K.O. in a relentless manner.

Soon, after a few seconds of tense contemplation, K.O. opened his eyes, his irises now completely glowing menacingly in a white light. His snarling teeth began to grow more sharp and jagged, and his body surged with pure, electric energy.

K.O.'s mind and body were now hijacked in favor of his dark half.

It was time to release…

..._him_...

"...E-e-e-e-e-e-e-_**NNNOOOUUUGH!**_"

***WHOOSH!*** ***ZAP!*** ***SHING!*** "_Huh!?_"

A burst of purple lightning mixed with bluish light had immediately engulfed K.O., causing so much energy to radiate from him that the mimic was literally blown off its feet and wound up changing back into a regular, more-humanoid body instead of its paper doll link form. The mimic fell onto its behind a few feet away from the boy in shock, shielding its eyes from the blinding light that K.O. was emitting right now. Red, still trapped and helpless, too had to clamp her eyes shut from what was going on.

Soon enough, as the glowing shine had finally died down, the mimic and Red Action were both finally able to open their eyes. But, when they did, they were both in for a shock to see what stood there before them!

The figure standing there, hunched over and breathing heavily, _did_ look like K.O., but something felt overall odd with this one.

This K.O. looked...vastly different…more menacing than anything…

His thick hair was unkempt and spiky. His eyes, once filled with childlike innocence, were beady and laced with anger, coupled with the fact that he wore dark, shiny eyeliner as well and that his teeth were sharpened like a dog. He now donned spiked wrist cuffs and his always-furious, hate-filled face sported the most angriest scowl ever made by man.

Thanks to the mimic's relentless taunts and verbal assault on the poor boy, it had helped to suddenly unleash a new side to K.O. that was only shown a few times prior to today. Enid and Rad certainly knew of this rarely-shown side of K.O., but Red and the mimic were both stunned to see this new revelation presented before them.

Gone was the sweet, innocent, and stalwart K.O., instead came in the boy's more vicious and negative side. The yin to his yang.

T.K.O..

Red Action laid there wide-eyed and horrified at this sudden and foreign transformation. She'd never expect K.O. to have a hidden half of him that looks so...savage compared to his usual bright-eyed demeanor. Even the mimic, still gasping for air from being blown away so suddenly, was beside itself in shock to see a transformation like this happen so quickly.

And yet, the mimic couldn't help but be intrigued by this scene as well.

'_So, the boy has a hidden dark side…_' the mimic thought with interest, '_Guess all it took was a bit of prodding to get this twerp to man up..._'

With its devious smile returning back to its face, the mimic got back up to slowly waltz over to T.K.O. to get a better look at him, undeterred by the boy staring daggers up at it with a crazed, menacing, and vengeful glaze in his eyes. As the mimic did this, Red Action, still overcome with fright, could only stare dumbfoundedly at what the shapeshifter was doing.

"Get away from him, freak!" shouted Red angrily, but the mimic didn't bother to listen or comply, it just simply took in K.O.'s new appearance with great admiration.

"Hmm, my, what an amazing discovery, indeed…" drawled the mimic with a smirk, checking out the boy's latest change of hair, clothing, and personality, "This form looks so much better than your old, standard form, boy. More stronger, too...it looks like you could actually put up something of a fight now."

T.K.O. said nothing. He simply glared at the mimic with bloodshot eyes. A low growl was heard from him, but the mimic paid no mind.

"Hmph, for the longest time, I thought I had been the only shapeshifting creature around, but after seeing you turn into this newer, darker version of yourself, boy...then, well...heh-heh...let's say that I may have underestimated you...perhaps we can make something out of this…"

Red's eyes boggled upon hearing what the mimic was saying. "K.O.! If you can hear me...Don't. Listen. To that mimic!" she tried to warn, but unfortunately, T.K. 't bother to listen to the Hue Trooper.

K.O. was now tucked away in the deep recesses of his own mind, with T.K.O. now in complete control of the hero boy's body.

Right now, it was T.K.O.'s time to shine. Not K.O.'s.

The mimic pondered for a moment before striking up an idea. "The way I see it, child...us shapeshifters must stick together. If we team up, we can usurp this blasted shopping center and be unstoppable as equals! Why, even a greenhorn like you can maybe learn some tricks from a pro like myself!"

"He's not a shapeshifter, you pink punk! _Leave him out of this!_" roared Red Action from afar. The mimic snickered lowly, extending an arm towards the growling and grisly T.K.O., in hopes to finalize his deal with the boy.

"What do you say, child? Mayhaps we take this new partnership into fruition? Two shapeshifting troublemakers working as one?" it coaxed with a sly, smarmy smile and tone.

T.K.O. still didn't give the mimic the benefit of an answer or even a reply. Somehow, he knew that the mimic was planning to just manipulate him in some way. All he did was glare at the mimic trying to attempt to give him a friendly handshake. Red began sweating profusely at her perch, wishing dearly she could try and protect K.O. (or whatever he was called in this new form), but even so, neither her or the mimic had expected what was to happen next…

...for the mimic has overlooked one little rule when regarding dealing with wild and dangerous animals.

***CHOMP!***

Never put your arm too close to them.

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!**_"

Currently, everything seemed to have happened all at once! One second ago, the mimic was proudly gloating down at T.K.O., but then the second after that, the mimic began to scream in loud agony upon having this rabid, ape-like child suddenly bite down _hard_ on its right arm, sinking his sharp teeth into the mimic's pink skin with no plans to let go anytime soon!

Needless to say, the mimic's mood had gone from snide and superior to completely and utterly horrified and confused in the span of two seconds.

Even Red Action was blown away with speechless shock as the mimic now began trying to violently shake T.K.O. off its arm, but to no avail. "_GET OFF MY ARM, YOU LITTLE FREAK!_" the mimic screeched in furious pain, doing all it can to get this kid off.

Sadly, the mimic's actions only caused T.K.O. to bite down even harder, causing the mimic to wail and snarl in pain as it flailed around in place like a hapless drunk! T.K.O. growled barbarically, his sharpened fangs piercing the mimic's skin like a needle, leaving only the mimic to scream even louder.

The mimic, now beyond desperate to get this rabid boy off of itself, began quick-switching to any possible new form it can turn into as a means to get T.K.O. off of its arm. It quickly morphed back into the gorilla form it was in a few moments ago, using its strength to rip the boy off, but that didn't work with T.K.O.'s teeth sinking stubbornly into one of the mimic's beefy arms.

It then quickly changed into a full-blown rhinoceros right afterwards, using its large feet to try and stomp on T.K.O. instead, but the child kept chomping on one of the mimic's big, chunky legs with vigor, not bothering to let go.

The mimic then decided to take it a step further by turning into a large tank, with T.K.O.'s fangs now clamped down on the main gun! The mimic continued screaming its head off as the turret part of the tank began spinning around and around in the hull, in hopes to forcibly shake off the boy, but even that wasn't enough to get T.K.O. to stop biting it!

It even resorted to using its cannon to shoot away at the field behind the plaza, using the force from each blast to shake the boy off, but this act only left behind more smoldering craters in the fields, sending dirt clumps all over the place. The boy simply snarled in rage, his beady eyes red with rage, his teeth still biting down on the mimic, and his anger still flaring strongly.

Red Action, meanwhile, was too enraptured into what was going on to try and attempt to free herself for the umpteenth time right now. Seeing T.K.O. now having the upper hand and finally besting himself over this pesky mimic was beginning to send jolts of pride and satisfaction through Red's body and mind. Quite frankly, this mimic had this coming for a long time.

At this point, the mimic could only cry out in horror and in excruciating torture, not able to stand having T.K.O.'s chompers chew down on itself like an angry dog. "GET-OFF-GET-OFF-GET-OFF-GET-OFF-GET-OFF!" shrilled the mimic hastily, continually failing to get the boy off him.

Then, in an act of desperation, the mimic then changed its body from a battle tank back to the fighter jet form it had used moments ago. With a now-surprised T.K.O. biting down on the right wing of the plane, the mimic's jet turbines began to whine louder and louder, until the engine was now roaring into life and ready to take off.

Maybe some aerial maneuvers can shake this boy off of this mimic...maybe…

***WHOOOOOSH!***

The jet then soared upwards into the sky and away from the back of the plaza, with the mimic itself screaming to the heavens above, still writhing in pain and fury at the boy biting its wing.

"_**GEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTT OOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!**_"

Dust, dirt, litter, and cloves of grass flew everywhere in every direction from how fast and strong the jet engines were as the mimic took to the skies with T.K.O. still held firmly onto it. The winds created from the jet turbines were strong enough to practically blow away any heavy object in the area.

Including the metal garage door clamping down on Red Action's body.

The door was brisked away to the side like a piece of paper, finally freeing Red Action from her metal prison. As the winds died down, Red Action carefully and slowly stood back up on her feet, cracking her sore back and limbs to try and get them in working order again. Bruises, cuts, scratches, and scuff marks were presented across her arms, legs, midriff, back, and chest armor, but overall, Red Action was feeling more sore and exhausted than hurt.

She then gazed in terror and stupefaction up in the skies to see the mimic jet haphazardly soar around in the air above Lakewood Plaza Turbo, with T.K.O. valiantly still chomping down on the jet's wing. Far-off sounds of the mimic screaming bloody-murder cold be heard all around the shopping center.

Red Action had so many questions floating around in her mind. What the heck did K.O. just turn into? Is that version of K.O. a different persona or something? Do Enid and Rad know about this? Is there a way to bring the old K.O. back? Red wasn't entirely sure what was occurring now, but with the mimic preoccupied at the moment, she knew she had to act fast to do something before this weird, dark side of K.O.'s can potentially cause more havoc to the plaza than the mimic was.

That was when Red quickly brought out her smartphone, knowing the very person to call in order to relay what was now happening.

* * *

There were times like this that Enid and Radicles both _really_ didn't care for going through the bodega's dark and maze-like stockroom.

Not long after K.O. was hired as an employee for Mr. Gar, they and K.O. had to scour through the deepest sections of the stockroom to try and find some more shaving cream for Fish Dude, only to come across obstacles like gloops, randomly-changing rooms, and especially mimics along the way. After the not-so fun journey, the three of them all prayed that they would never have to enter the stockroom ever again. But, with the stakes being crazy high right now, what with a mimic running amok around the plaza, Enid and Rad knew he had to find Gary to see if he could help them all out in their more dire time of need.

Lit torches lined the crate-and-brick walls, giving out the only source of light in the hallway. Everything feel quiet and murky and the air was damp and had an odd smell to it. They felt like they were in the middle of some sort of psycho-horror film, but the two teens still soldiered on, hoping to find where Gary was.

'_Not far now…_' Enid thought to herself, remembering the area where Gary usually patrolled. They had been walking for at least six or seven minutes by now, so Enid knew they must be heading in the right direction.

After a few more feet, they soon arrived at a doorway shown at the end of a length hallway. Relief and excitement coursed through Rad and Enid's veins upon discovery. "Maybe this will lead us to Gary!?" Radicles asked hopefully. Enid nodded in determination.

"Only one way to find out, buddy!" she stated. The two soon began to pick up the pace as they sprinted down the hall and towards the doorway. Unfortunately, just as they reached it, they managed to find something else entirely different from what they expected instead, as evident by the shell-shocked expressions they were now sporting upon entering through the doorway.

"Oh, Cob-darnit…" they both muttered together.

Instead of finding Gary's usual domain as hoped, they found a room more vastly different than the others. The room was tinted with a gold-yellow color with various Egyptian artifacts and stylings decorated around the room, from masks to pottery to even a large sarcophagus being placed near the middle of the room. Rad and Enid both gazed in wonder and dread at the sight of the room before the cashier girl softly grumbled to herself.

"Pssh, I nearly forgot...the rooms here in the stockroom automatically switch around…" she grunted upsettingly. Radicles groaned in irritation.

"Oh, we'll never find Gary at this rate…" he griped, "This dumb stockroom is nothing but a glorified maze! How're we gonna track down Gary in this place!"

"We'll just have to keep searching, then!" replied Enid, her spirits still ablaze with vigor, "The plaza and all of our friends are counting on us, Rad!"

However, before any one of them could say another word...

***SHUFFLE-SHUFFLE-SHUFFLE!*** ***RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE!***

An odd, but eerie sound occurred from inside the room. Rad's eyes widened in unadulterated horror and his antennas froze stiff upon hearing it.

"...Did you just hear that?" he whisper-shouted towards Enid, his spine shivering in surprise. Enid raised an eyebrow and carefully tried to hear the sound again. Soon enough, it occurred again after a few silent seconds.

***SHUFFLE-SHUFFLE!*** ***RATTLE-RATTLE!*** ***GROOOANNN!***

Rad felt the blood inside his body freeze up instantly. His knees rattled and his turquoise-colored skin paled. "Wh-Wh-Where's that noise coming from!?" he gasped. Enid seemed more confused than scared, to be frank, so she carefully began looking around for the source of the rattling.

She didn't have to look for so long as she noticed something about the nearby sarcophagus that seemed off to her. The opening of the large, ancient casket began to shudder and clatter a bit, as if it was trying to open itself. Radicles gasped and, without hesitation, jumped behind Enid for protection.

"Great, now this place is haunted as well!" he yelped. Enid rolled her eyes at her friend's cowardice, but as soon as she was about to talk any sense towards him.

***CREEEEEEAAAAAAK!*** The sarcophagus began to slowly open up, its loud creaking sending poor Rad's emotions in an absolute tizzy as he began cowering and crying up a storm in fetal-position on the ground, covering his face in his hands as not to look at whoever was inside the casket..

"NO, NO, PLEASE, DON'T EAT MY BRAINS! FOR THE LOVE OF COB, I'M TOO HANDSOME TO DIE! HELP! MOMMY!"

***YAAAWWWWWWN!***

"...huh!?"

Poor scared Radicles was half-expecting a monster of sorts to pop out of the sarcophagus to eat or maul him and Enid, but instead, he was surprised to see instead a tall, skinny, cute mummy girl with a pink bow slowly and sleepily exit the large casket, rubbing at her eyes tiredly as she spotted Enid and a cowardly Rad in her domain.

"Oh…*yawn*...hi, guys!" she greeted with a tiny yawn, trying to make herself more cheery in spite of just waking up, "How're ya both doing?" Rad blinked once in shock from his spot on the ground.

"Ms. Mummy!?" he gasped, "Wh-What're you doing here!?" Ms. Mummy tilted her still-sleepy head in confusion.

"Well, I live back here…" she replied nonchalantly, "I thought you guys already knew that?"

Radicles and Enid both blushed in embarrassment. Neither of them could ever remember that Ms. Mummy technically lived in the bodega's back room. Still, Radicles tried to play off all of this as smoothly as he can be.

"Pssh, of course we did! I mean, I wasn't scared or anything!" Rad denied falsely in order to cover his tracks, "It was Enid who was scared, not me!" Enid rolled her pupils and smirked.

"Uh-huh, sure, I was _totally_ scared…not like I've been to a school full of ghouls and monsters before, but hey…" she joked, remembering her former days at Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Ghouls. However, now wasn't the time for reminiscing and continuity references, now was the time for action and recruitment.

She then casted Ms. Mummy a serious, pleading look. "Ms. Mummy, uh, would you happen to know where Gary lives around here?" she asked. Ms. Mummy raised an eyebrow.

"Green guy with a cloak? Yeah, I know him. Why, what's wrong?" she answered back confusedly.

"We kinda have a mimic situation outside around Lakewood Plaza Turbo and we need his help to stop this thing!" explained Radicles.

"He's the only one that can help us!" added Enid, "We can't seem to stop it ourselves." Ms. Mummy gasped worriedly.

"Oh, my word! That sounds serious…" she replied, "If it helps, I know the way around this stockroom like the back of my bandaged hand, so if you'd like, I can take you both to Gary myself!"

Rad and Enid grinned in gratitude as Ms. Mummy's gracious offer. "Oh, thank you so much, Ms. Mummy!" gasped Enid with a relieved smile, "I don't know how we can repay you for-"

***BZZT-BZZT-BZZT-BZZT!***

Suddenly, Enid hear and felt a vibrating buzz happen in her shorts' pocket as she reached in and grabbed what was making that noise: her smartphone. She then checked the Caller ID to see who was calling, but after seeing who it was, Enid could've sworn that she felt her blood freeze in worry upon seeing it.

Red Action.

Regardless, she accepted the call and brought the phone to her ear to speak. "Hello, Red, is everything okay!?" she asked hastily.

"_Uh...depends on what you mean by 'okay', E…_" came the unsure reply from the other end. Enid's eyes boggled in worry upon hearing that tone of voice.

"Red, what do you mean!? Is K.O. hurt!? Did that mimic kill someone!?" Enid demanded frightfully at her phone. Now she was really getting scared!

"_Uh, no, K. 't hurt...but something did happen to him…_" Red answered back in a stilted voice. Enid raised an eyebrow, her nerves still not at ease.

"What're you talking about, Red?" she asked.

"_Well, you see, the mimic began taunting the kid relentlessly and then suddenly...I dunno, the kid must've snapped! He turned into this weird, emo-looking thing instead and then he began wailing on the mimic like a wild animal!_" Red explained worriedly.

Enid squinted her eyes in confusion. '_Weird, emo-looking thing? What is she talking about-_'

Then, the realization hit her like an incoming freight train.

"Oh, sweet Corn…" was all she was able to mutter as her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Ms. Mummy and Rad looked at Enid with fright and befuddlement.

"Enid, what happened!? Is K.O. okay!?" Radicles asked concerningly, but Enid didn't bother to answer as multiple troubling and haunting thoughts swam in her head.

'_Oh, please don't tell me that thing is back...for the love of Cob, not now…_' she dreaded in her mind. Enid practically looked catatonic right now, with poor Radicles and Ms. Mummy both unsure about what was going on with her. Thankfully, Red Action's voice managed to break through Enid's horrified state.

"_Enid!? Yo, Enid, are you still there!? Enid!?_" Red cried out, snapping Enid out her trance as her face grew more serious (with still a lingering hint of fear in her eyes).

"Red, where did they go!? Are they still in the plaza!?" Enid cried out desperately.

"_Sorta, the mimic turned into a jet and your friend's bitin' down on one of its wings. So far, they still flying around above the plaza. Beardo's already evacuating the heroes left behind in the plaza out front…_" Red answered. Enid gulped.

"Did K.O. try to hurt you or anyone else, by any chance?" she asked in fear.

"_Uhh, actually, no. It seems like he's targeting all his anger at the mimic for now…_" Red replied from the receiver. Enid sighed softly, pinching the bridge of her nose to process all of this before speaking back to Red on the phone. At least K.O.'s turbo form isn't hurting anyone else aside from the mimic…

...for now...

"Red, try and see if you can hold off that mimic for a little while longer. We're soon close to finding Gary here in the stockroom, so make sure K.O. and the others are safe, okay!?" ordered Enid through her fear-stricken voice.

"_Will do, Enid!_" came the brave reply, "_Stay safe!_" And with that, the phone call came to an end.

Enid shivered and whimpered to herself as she then put her phone away, the feeling of horror still present inside of her. Radicles, still awaiting for the answer to what was going on, still wanted his voice to be heard towards Enid.

"Enid, what the ever-loving heck is going on!? What happened to K.O.!?" he demanded, stomping his foot as to get her attention. Enid tried to swallow the lump inside her throat as best as she could, slowly turning around to give Radicles a dreadful and scared expression, which greatly confused and worried the alien in question.

"...R-Rad...I-I'm sure how to say this...b-but I think K.O. must've turned into...T.K.O…." was what Enid finally managed to piece together.

Needless to say, Rad was floored by this news.

"T.K.O.!?" he gasped in terror, "A-Are you sure!?" Enid nodded shakily.

"That's what Red Action described to me on the phone…apparently that mimic had taunted him to the point where his dark side must've just shown up out of anger..." she gravely confirmed. Now it was Rad's turn to go into full-blown panic mode as well.

"Oh, b-blorp, this ain't good! How're we gonna stop both T.K.O. _and_ this dumb mimic at the same time!? Th-This is simply hopeless!" he gasped, hugging himself as to try and calm his own nerves, but to no avail. Enid, in spite of her own fears, still tried to ease down her friend.

"Rad, calm down now…" she ushered, "Red said that K.O.'s only attacking the mimic...at least for now, so hopefully we'll still have time to be able to stop the mimic once we find Gary!" Enid's statement did sound quite assured and hopeful, even during such a tragic and stressful moment like this, but even so, Rad still seemed doubtful and stricken with fear.

"But what about our little buddy!?" he asked sadly, "It's not like we have Dendy here to help us calm him down…"

Enid hated to admit it, but Rad did have a point there. Dendy knew more about K.O.'s turbo half better than she or Rad did, what with so many experiments and tests done on K.O. as to see what makes T.K.O. tick. But, according to K.O., Dendy was out of town to visit some relatives, meaning she wouldn't be here to help control T.K.O. during their time of need.

That, unfortunately, only left Enid and Radicles to try and calm down T.K.O. instead, but still, Enid wanted to ensure that things will go okay and that they will get through this mess.

"We'll cross that bridge soon, Rad, trust me. Right now, let's worry about finding Gary to see if he'll send that mimic packing…" replied Enid eventually, but even then, Rad still looked apprehensive. Letting out a sigh, Enid walked closer to Rad and placed a sisterly hand on his hulking shoulder, in hopes to calm him down a tad.

"Rad, it's gonna be fine...we'll find Gary, stop this mimic, and bring K.O. back to normal soon enough...I promise…" she assured, managing to give Rad a tiny, hope-filled smile up at him. Rad certainly took Enid's words to heart, and while he was grateful for the kind words, he still felt guilty and worried.

"Well...okay…" he finally said after a few seconds of silence, "but only because you think it'll work, Enid...I'm just sorry I've been so stressed and frustrated with all this…" Enid nodded in understanding.

"Trust me, dude, I'm the same way too, but fretting and panicking isn't gonna solve our problems." she replied softly, "Let's just go out there and save all our friends...as well as our little bro, okay big guy?"

And with that, Rad felt a surge of confidence flow through his body, his sense of fear slowly slipping away as he mustered the courage to give a determined grin. "Yeah...okay, let's do it then…" he replied as bravely as possible.

Meanwhile, Ms. Mummy, still silent and in the background throughout all this, looked beyond confused and riddled with concern. "G-Guys? I'm confused. Wh-What's wrong with K.O. now!?" she piped up in fright. Enid and Rad turned back towards her.

"We'll explain to you soon, Ms. Mummy. But right now, can you show us where Gary is?" Enid asked.

"Yeah!" agreed Rad, "We can't lose anymore time now!" Ms. Mummy gasped and stammered in surprise.

"Oh, uh, right, of course, uh, just follow me!" she replied, and before long, she quickly led Enid and Radicles out of her Egyptian-themed docile and through another set of hallways leading away from the area and towards where Gary usually domains.

But as they were all sprinting down the halls as if their lives depended on it (which technically is true), Enid and Rad, despite trying to think positively during their trek, still felt dread and concern lingering in their minds.

It had been bad enough that there was a persistent and revenge-driven mimic loose across Lakewood Plaza, but now, they all have to deal with T.K.O. of all things running rampant as well. Even with T.K.O. taking out all his anger on the helpless mimic right now, that didn't mean that the turbo-changed child still wasn't a force to be reckoned with on its own.

Should they fail or give up, they could easily wind up losing the plaza, all their friends, and especially K.O., regardless if they defeat this mimic or not...

Still, they weren't planning on letting that happen...nor were they willing to give up...not with the entire plaza at stake.

They were going to stay strong for their friends. They were going to stay strong for K.O..

They were going to win.

'_Don't worry, little bro…_' They both thought in unison, their faces wrinkled with protectiveness as they all ran down the stockroom's numerous and winding hallways, '_We're coming…_'

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

**I BET NONE OF Y'ALL WERE EXPECTING T.K.O. TO SHOW UP, EH!?**

**But seriously though, if this story was meant to act as a springboard to write for more less-developed characters like Gary (who will appear next chapter) and a few other Lakewood heroes, it's to also act as my first-ever attempt to write for T.K.O. as well! Although, considering that T.K.O. has basically mellowed out around S2, which is where this story is meant to take place in, I won't actually have him harm anyone else aside from the mimic, but still, that doesn't mean he ain't a threat tho… :)**

**Additionally, writing for the mimic has been quite fun as well. I've wanted to try and make it use more psychological torture rather than physical this chapter, as evident by how much he was tormenting poor K.O. earlier (I was watching Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" one night and I guess I had Heath Ledger's Joker in mind while writing the mimic's personality and actions).**

**Also, it would appear that this mimic and K.O. might have some sort of history together...curious… ;)**

**Anywho, with two chapters left, will we find out why this mimic holds such an odd vendetta against K.O.? How will things go from here now that T.K.O. has entered the scene? Will Rad, Enid, and Ms. Mummy find Gary in time?**

**All these questions shall be revealed in the upcoming chapters, so stay tuned for Chapter Five: Siege at the Shopping Center! :D**

**MINOR EDIT (as of 7/6/19): I mixed up the part regarding T.K.O. being the yin to K.O.'s yang, as I mistakenly referred to it as "the yang to his yin", when it should be the other way around. The error has been fixed and I apologize for that slip-up. Major thanks to the guest reviewer who pointed that tidbit out! :)**

**~Thunderbyrd**


	5. Chapter 5: Siege at the Shopping Center

**It is time to yeet, fellow readers and fans, because Chapter Five has finally arrived!**

**When we last left our heroes, the mimic's relentless mockery has caused poor K.O. to turn into T.K.O., with the mimic now dealing with a more formidable challenger as of now (although it appears T.K.O. is getting the upper hand on this… ;) ), and now, with Ms. Mummy's added help, Rad and Enid are closer to finding Gary to see if he can fix this mimicry madness.**

**How will things play out in this chapter? Let's read and see! :)**

**Also, as a heads-up, K.O. (who's now stuck inside of T.K.O.'s physical form as a subconscious) shall be speaking up once and a while, so his dialogue in this story shall be depicted with bold text. T.K.O.'s own thoughts will be in regular italic text. Just think of it as a way for both T.K.O. and K.O. to communicate each other with their own minds throughout this whole mess. ;)**

**OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun).**

* * *

**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**CHAPTER FIVE: SIEGE AT THE SHOPPING CENTER**

"Come on, you hunk of junk! Go already!"

For the past twenty minutes, Beardo had been trying his hardest to get his food truck running again, but with little to no success. He and the other refugee heroes had all managed to bring the truck back onto its wheels once more, but evidently, the slight-collision between the truck and the mimic's jet form must've caused something in the engine block to come loose, thus causing the truck to stall.

Beardo angrily continuing attempting the turn the key for the umpteenth time that afternoon, hoping for the engine to turn over, but all that followed afterwards was the truck making pitiful gurgling noises instead. The engine just wasn't being cooperative today, and with the mimic still running amok around Lakewood Plaza Turbo, Beardo knew he had to get these other heroes out and away from the plaza ASAP.

Meanwhile, the other heroes (consisting of Drupe, Brandon, Nick Army, Joff, Punching Judy, Mr. Logic, Gregg, Chameleon Jr., Potato, and Colewort) were all growing quite ansty, impatient, and annoyed upon being squeezed inside a cramped, messy food truck like sardines in a tin can. As much as most of them simply wanted to fight this mimic themselves, they detested waiting around like this just as much.

"Beardo, you keep doing that, you're gonna flood the engine!" Drupe nagged huffily, currently cramped between Gregg and a cabinet full of spices.

"I think he may have flooded it already…" grumbled Chameleon Jr., perched on top of the turned-off stove. Beardo grumbled crossly.

"I'm doing the best I can!" he gruffed from behind the wheel, "Just worry about keeping eye out for mimic!" Nick Army grumped in his spot, being wedged between Joff and Punching Judy in one corner of the van.

"I still can't see why we can't fight this mimic instead…" the explosion-loving hero groused, "We've been sitting here like sitting ducks for nearly half an hour!"

"I agree!" rallied Judy with a grunt, "C'mon, Beardo, let's just-"

***VROOOOM!***

Suddenly, just as Judy was ready to propose that the group would attempt to battle against the mimic themselves, the food truck's engine miraculously began roaring to life once more! Beardo beamed brightly and let out a jolly, relieved chortle.

"HA-HA! YES!" he boomed, tightening his grip on the steering wheel, "Let's get out of here!" The truck soon slowly began to advance forward, directing itself to head towards the exit lane that led out from Lakewood Plaza and onto the open road.

As this was happening, high above in the skies, T.K.O. was still strongly biting down on the mimic as it flew above the plaza in its fighter plane form, out of control. The mimic screamed and growled, still hoping to get this boy off of it as soon as possible.

"Foolish boy!" screeched the mimic, trying not to let the pain get to its mind, "You may be stronger and more durable in this new form, but you can never defeat me! Your demise will be inevitable!" T.K.O. didn't bother to answer; his chompers were still clamped shut onto the mimic's jet wing, and he still wasn't planning on letting this mimic escape at any moment!

However, while the mimic was crazily flying above the plaza like a madman, T.K.O.'s mind was flooded with many thoughts. Thoughts coming from another part of him…

...a more kind-hearted part of him, who'd had a much more clearer and controlled moral compass than he'd ever have. From what it sounded like, these thoughts seemed to be talking back at him, even through the deepest, darkest, most kept-away recesses of his mind.

And additionally, from what T.K.O. heard, exactly who the voice was that was saying these thoughts to him made T.K.O. incredibly annoyed indeed.

"**T.K.O.? T.K.O., it's me, K.O.! Can you hear me?**" came the worrisome call from inside his mindset. T.K.O. snarled in agitation. Not this pesky pacifist again.

"_Grr...what do you want, twerp!?_" he growled within his own mind, answering back to his subconscious, "_Can't you see I'm trying to put this mimic back in its place!?_"

"**T.K.O., I'm not sure this is a good way to handle this situation…**" K.O.'s voice tried to reason, his tone sounding quite concerned and serious. T.K.O. rolled his eyes and growled softly. Typical that K.O. would want to go down the safe route, as usual…

"_There is no other way, shrimp...if this mimic wants to cause trouble, then I'll give him trouble…_" he growled valiantly. K.O.'s answer to that was of a sigh, one that sounded quite tired.

"**I know what the mimic did was mean, T.K.O., trust me...but we shouldn't have to resort to this…**" K.O. rationalized civilly, "**The mimic, evil or not, is still a living thing. Isn't there any way that you could...ease down and let him go?**" K.O.'s innocent suggestion was almost enough to cause T.K.O. to loosen his grip against the mimic from how crazy that idea sounded, but still, T.K.O. kept his composure (and bite) secured within seconds.

"_This pink punk insults you, mocks you, and disguises as your own friends as a means to break you down, and you're suggesting me to back off!?_" T.K.O. snapped incredulously in his head, "_What kind of pansy nonsense is THAT!? Are you that much of a crazy wimp, kid!?_"

K.O., in spite of T.K.O.'s rising anger, still stayed determined and calm. "**It's not 'pansy nonsense', nor is it being crazy or being a wimp. It's doing the right thing. We should still try and talk to this mimic. Make it open up more to see why it's hurting so much…**"

T.K.O. suppressed the urge to groan. He really wasn't in the mood for this namby-pamby garbage. "_The only thing I'm gonna open up in this mimic's rib cage!_" T.K.O. shot back furiously. He could hear K.O. let out a tiny, tired sigh afterwards.

"**T.K.O., that's the opposite of what I'm suggesting.**"

"_Who cares what you think!? Right now, this mimic needs to pay for his crimes!_"

"**How is that supposed to help both of us?**" questioned K.O.'s voice.

"_By avenging you, squirt. Nobody makes a fool both out of us!_"

"**T.K.O., please! It's high-time you should calm down! It doesn't have to end like this!**" K.O. tried once more to ease down his bad self's temper, but to no success. T.K.O. snarled; he'd had enough of K.O. butting in while he's trying to exact some revenge.

"_More like it's high-time you grown a spine! You may have gotten in the way of me trying pound Shadowy Figure, but you __**ain't**_ _gonna stop me from stopping this shapeshifting freak this time, punk!_" T.K.O. shot back determinedly, "_This mimic's antics end NOW!_"

As this was all happening, the mimic suddenly began accelerating its speed at a great rate, snapping T.K.O. out of his trance as he was sent whooshing and swooshing across the yellow-colored skies above Lakewood with a care. Surprisingly and miraculously, he still kept his sharp teeth gnashed onto the mimic's wing throughout all this!

As far as T.K.O. cared, he wasn't letting this mimic out of his sights and grasp.

* * *

Meanwhile, back down onto the ground, Beardo was driving his truck towards the plaza's exit in order to get as far away from the mimic as humanly possible...although, there seemed to be an issue throughout all this. Apparently, because of when the food truck was overturned thanks to the mimic's abhorrent flying skills from earlier, something must've jostled or disconnected inside of the truck's engine, causing it to move at a snail's pace even with Beardo slamming his foot down on the pedal as hard as he could.

Now, with the mobile food stand now driving pitifully at around 10 MPH, all Beardo could do was grumble and writhe in dread and agony as the truck was inching towards the parking lot exit at a slow, pathetic speed.

"Come on, you rusty hunk of scrap iron, _**MOVE!**_" Beardo roared, clearly stressed out from today's crazy and frantic events.

The other heroes trapped inside his truck all winced upon seeing the normally-placid and calm vendor goblin look so panicked and furious like this. However, fearing that Beardo might unleash some of his anger upon them, the group found it best to keep quiet for now.

However, before anything else can happen, a sudden spluttering sound rose up from inside the truck, causing the vehicle to shudder and shake. Everyone inside all gasped and wailed in confusion and fright. Beardo, naturally, was the most flabbergasted.

"What was that!?" he cried out from behind the wheel.

Potato pondered for a moment. Standing closest to the large, rectangular service window from the truck's side, she tried to spot what the problem could be from outside. However, she'd need a better view. She turned towards Chameleon Jr. for assistance.

"Chameleon Jr.! Use your tongue to pick me up and raise me outside of this window…" she ordered, "I need to see what might be happening to this truck right now."

Chameleon Jr. raised a confused eyebrow, but didn't object either way. He then extended his tongue to wrap around Potato's waist hard enough to get a nice and firm grip around it so she wouldn't fall or slip, and then, using his strength, the tongue lifted Potato in the air and carefully propped itself outside of the open window, letting Potato dangle outside of the slowly-moving vehicle like a fish on a rod. Luckily, Potato was small and light enough so that the lizard boy wouldn't strain himself from doing such a task.

Potato looked all around the food truck's exterior to hopefully spot a clue to why the truck wasn't picking up speed. It didn't take her long, however, until she spied something following behind the truck that made her gasp and quiver in surprise.

A long trail of motor oil was dripping rapidly from underneath the truck's chassis, thanks to a busted fuel injector. Because of this, the truck was running low on oil, hence why it was running so slowly now. Potato's eyes widened in horror.

"The truck's losing oil, guys!" she cried out from outside the window. Everyone from inside the truck gasped and gawked at this revelation, especially poor Beardo.

"What did she say!?" the goblin demanded dreadfully.

***SPLUTTER!*** ***RATTLE-RATTLE!***

But before anything else can be said, the truck began making louder coughing and sputtering sounds. And then, soon enough, the truck slowly hissed to a slow stop, just mere centimeters away from the plaza's exiting lane. Beardo's eye twitched multiple times, sitting in the driver's seat silently and in shock. Everyone looked up at the goblin cook with perplexity and subdued fright, unsure of how he was going to respond to this.

It didn't take too long to find out as Beardo let out a loud growl and started loudly cursing in his native tongue, babbling angrily while everyone in the truck simply stood and sat around awkwardly and frightfully in the back, not wishing to get in Beardo's way. At this point, the other heroes weren't sure of what else to do about their situation.

With the truck now out of motor oil, it was well and truly stuck a few feet away from the action above them.

And speaking of "action".

* * *

Red Action had just came sprinting towards the main front of Lakewood Plaza's terrace, watching the mimic and T.K.O. soar high above the area like a less-than-majestic eagle. She panted heavily and her forehead was damp from so much sweat. She looked up at the mimic in the sky and then she cast her sights towards Beardo's Burrito truck and its occupants, gazing on in shock to see it still standing around in the parking lot, unbeknownst of its sickly condition right now.

"Why the heck are they still hangin' around here!?" she gasped incredulously. But before Red can press the matter any further, she heard someone's voice utter out from close by as she stood in front of Mr. Gar's Bodega in confusion..

"OooooOOOOooohhh...wh-what happened?" came a woozy, dizzy, nasally voice.

Red turned around and gasped out in surprise to what she saw. There, scattered inside of a garbage can next to the bodega, were the detached body parts of Real Magic Skeleton. His skull poked out from the top of the can, his beady irises spinning around from how dizzy he was from his sudden encounter with the mimic from behind the plaza. And from the looks of it, RMS seemed to be missing a tooth and had a small crack forming on his cranium after his fight.

The Hue Trooper dashed over to the disconnected pile of Real Magic Skeleton parts to see if he was okay. "RMS, buddy, you alright, dude!?" she cried, looking into the can with hasty fright.

RMS groaned weakly. "Er...uh, yeah...I think so…" he muttered, trying to shake away the dizziness in his bony head. Red sighed in relief. She then picked up RMS's skull head in her hands and gave him a worrisome expression.

"RMS, can ya pull yourself together again with your magic?" she asked. RMS frowned in uncertainty.

"I-I'll try…" he stuttered. He clamped his eyes shut and tried to use his own special magic to piece his body back to normal, but for some reason, nothing seemed to be working. Real Magic Skeleton was still disjointed and piled in a heap of bones and body parts.

"I...er...I...ugh...I c-can't do it!" cried the skeletal frame store worker in shame. Red Action looked on in worry. She took a look inside the garbage can for any possible clues until what she saw made it clear why RMS' magic wasn't up to snuff right now.

Real Magic Skeleton's main upper torso was seen poking out inside the can, but from what Red saw, she noticed that the shiny purple gemstone lodged inside of the rib cage (where RMS stored his magical abilities) had a small crack in it! Because of this, RMS couldn't be able to use his magic to reconnect himself together again, or to use his magic in general for the time being.

Although clearly woozy and damaged, RMS was still thankfully alive and breathing, though it seemed like he'd might have to sit this fight out.

Red Action let out a soft sigh. With her friend now down for the count, she wasn't sure what else she and the others could do now. RMS looked positively ashamed. "I'm sorry, Red…" he mumbled self-dejectedly, "I really messed things up, huh? Me _and_ my weak, worthless magic…"

The Hue Trooper looked down at the upset skull head with a saddened look, cradling the head of RMS close to her in comfort. "You did all that you could, RMS…" she assured, "This mimic is just too fast and smart for _all_ of us…"

Real Magic Skeleton still didn't seem too sure about that. "B-But, my magic! I-"

"RMS, dude, listen." Red firmly cut in, before her skeltal friend could talk more smack about himself again, "It's okay. We're not upset that you didn't stop this mimic. We all just need to come up with a plan to take down this mimic once and for all. Right now, the mimic has caused K.O. to go all feral, so now we gotta deal with both him and the mimic as well!" RMS blinked in surprise.

"'Feral'? You mean that he wound up looking all emo and edgy and stuff? With spiked collars and crazy hair?" he asked. Red looked at the skull in mild surprise.

"Uh, yeah…" she answered back hesitantly, "How'd you know about that?"

"Me and Brandon encountered K.O.'s transformation a while ago while he was tearing up the plaza. From what I saw, and according to Dendy, Enid, and Rad, one of the best ways to try and calm this form of K.O. down is to hold him tight and tell him that he is loved and appreciated..." Real Magic Skeleton explained.

Red's face contorted into an expression of doubt. While she certainly trusted Enid and her motives, the idea of simply talking down to this more crazed version of the normally-sunny and sweet boy hero didn't seem to sound that much effective to her. K.O., in this new form, looked and acted like an outright savage! How the heck can saying such simple, innocent, and heartfelt words do anything to tame a ravenous beast like this!?

Still, left with no other feasible or helpful plans and ideas, Red Action had no choice but to accept this idea as a way to stop K.O.'s possible destructive reign and bring him back to normal. If Enid and her friends managed to make that plan work, then she will too.

"Well, guess we'll have to give it a shot, then…" she sighed. She then quickly spotted an old bucket close by before she swiped it and then scooped Real Magic Skeleton's body parts inside the bucket, as a means to safely carry him around while he was still incapacitated.

Now, with RMS placed inside of his new makeshift carrying case, Red Action jogged in place, ready to sprint over to Beardo's stopped truck to see what the situation was, all while keeping a close eye on the mimic flying above her as to make sure that the shapeshifting gremlin wouldn't pull a fast one.

"Hang on, RMS!" she called out, amping herself up for another possible brawl, "We're goin' in!"

RMS frowned lamely. "I can't exactly hang on to anything if I can't move my arms, Re-_EEEEED! WHOA!_"

And just like that, the red-themed Hue Trooper jolted away from the bodega and straight towards the food truck as fast as her legs could go, with a shaken-up RMS bouncing around in the bucket she was clutching on to. Red shot across the parking lot like a bat out of Hell, which then caught the attraction of the other Lakewood heroes from inside the vehicle not too far away.

Potato, now safely brought back inside the truck thanks to Chameleon Jr. and his extending tongue, was the first to notice their allies' near arrival. "Is that who I think it is?" she queried in surprise, spying the familiar red figure from afar.

Everyone else in the truck soon gathered around the truck's side window (aside from Beardo whom was still cursing and whinging from behind the wheel), and sure enough, they all clamored with joy upon seeing their futuristic friend soon joining the scene, with Real Magic Skeleton in tow.

"It's Red Action!" gasped Drupe.

"And Magi, too!" cheered Brandon, relief flourishing across his face.

Punching Judy pumped her fists in excitement. "That means we might have a chance now to beat that mimic!" she cried out.

"Indeed, the odds shall be in our favor now." Mr. Logic added with optimism.

"WHOO! LET'S DO THIS!" roared Nick Army, his eyes blazing with righteous glee.

And in no time at all, the heroes all cramped inside of the food truck began scrambling outside from the vehicle to meet up with Red Action and RMS, leaving behind the anguishing Beardo in the truck to wallow in his anger, not even bothering to call the others back inside. Soon, Red and RMS caught up and were met with cheers and greetings from the others, all thankful to see their ally safe and sound.

"Red, you're okay!" squealed Potato.

"What's happening, and what on Earth happened to RMS!?" exclaimed Brandon in confusion and fear, now noticing his discombobulated ally in shameful defeat.

"Do you have any ideas on how we can stop this mimic?" Judy asked curiously. Red recoiled in shock, unready to have been bombarded with this many questions thrown at her. She then tried to calm down the small crowd as best as she could, as to not have a riot on her hands.

"Everyone, just chill for a few minutes!" she called out, to which everyone did comply (albeit reluctantly), "Now, look. Enid and Rad are currently fetching somebody who's gonna help us with this mimic problem properly, so we're gonna need their assistance for this!"

"We couldn't fend off the mimic ourselves...as you can see…" moped Real Magic Skeleton from inside his bucket. Brandon stared softly at his fallen friend before he gently grabbed the bucket from Red's hand and gave him an assuring smile.

"Don't worry about it, Magi. You're still alive and ya did your best. That's all that counts, bro." the lazy bear heartened with a warm smile. And even though RMS still felt upset for not being able to seize the mimic's actions earlier, Brandon's kind words managed to bring something of a small smile back on his bony face again.

However, one of the heroes in the crowd seemed to have had a thought swarming inside his mind.

"I do possess a query." buzzed Mr. Logic in pure curiosity, "Wasn't young K.O. aiding you two in attempting to fight this mimic?"

Red Action and Real Magic Skeleton winced and cringed at that seemingly-innocent question. They both looked up to still see the mimic flying high above them all, with T.K.O. still in tow. Red blushed, unsure of what to say and how to explain about K.O.'s current condition.

"Well…you see, the thing is…"

But before Red Action can piece together something of a logical statement, everything happened at once. The mimic suddenly began to go into a nose dive in its fighter jet form. T.K.O. was bracing for impact upon the wing, his jaw now beginning to ache from chewing down on it for so long. The mimic spiraled straight downwards, its target in sight as the crowd soon realized where the mimic was planning to land.

Right on top of Beardo's food truck.

One quick glance up at the mimic soared down above them was enough for Red Action to go into panic mode. "EVERYONE, MOVE! NOW!" she shrilled. The other heroes were all quick to follow through with this order as they all scattered safely away from the truck, in order not to be caught in the upcoming collision.

However, they had all overlooked one glaring detail regarding this: Beardo was still inside the truck!

***KA-**_**BOOOOOOOM!**_*

Just as everybody realized too little, too late about their missing ally, the mimic had already crashed right into the food truck, causing a fiery explosion to form upon impact, sending the truck ablaze. All the heroes gazed in complete and utter terror, all shocked to see Beardo get involved in such a grisly, burning fate. They were all helpless to assist him, and even then, they were all too stunned to even move to save him.

However, thanks to zany cartoon logic, with a sudden whoosh, the miraculously-currently alive Beardo was immediately seen flying out from inside the fiery inferno, shouting and groaning loudly as he swooped into the sky before he then plummeted back down to Earth like a rock...

***THUD!*** "OW!"

...and landed right on top of poor Colewort.

Everyone managed to break away from their stupor to gather around Beardo to see if he was okay. Surprisingly and thankfully, Beardo looked more woozy and exhausted than injured. The fire had burned away his apron and shirt, and had singed most of his skin and hair to a near-crisp. Steam and smoke emitted from how hot he was, but overall, Beardo was still alive, albeit lethargic.

He groaned and gasped for only a few seconds, before he laid back down on the ground, having just passed out and slipped away into unconsciousness. Red Action sighed heavily and wiped away the sweat forming on her forehead, relieved to see that Beardo was still mostly okay.

She turned towards Nick Army with a serious expression. "Nick, pick Beardo up off the ground and get him to safety." she ordered, to which Nick agreed to her without any complaints.

As Nick heaved Beardo off of the sore and unlucky broccoli boy and slung the cook over his strong shoulders like a heavy sack before carefully and safely placing him on the ground next to a parked car close by, Red began examining the fire from a safe distance, as if she was trying to find somebody from afar.

The fire kept blazing brightly as it spread around the smashed remnants of Beardo's mobile food stand. There was no sign of the mimic nor K.O. in his rabid, new form. Red looked on and couldn't help but to worry; even if K.O. was now morphed into this new and more destructive body and state of mind, she somehow knew that the true K.O. was still in that body somewhere, and she dreaded the fact that she had failed to rescue her friend in time.

However, as she continued gazing into the burning fires of what remained of the truck, something (or somebody) suddenly came flying out of the fire at blazing speeds (no pun intended).

"AAARRRGGGGGHH!"

T.K.O. was then seen soaring out of the flames and into the air, flying above the stunned group of heroes below as if he was sent into the sky by a catapult. The angry boy then roughly landed back down on the harsh pavement and growled furiously as he tried to get himself back up.

His jaw and teeth were utterly sore, but even still, he still kept baring his fangs to show off his dominance. Much like Beardo, T.K.O.'s shirt and vest were mostly burned away from the flames and splotches of his skin had burn marks all around. There was even a tiny flames still left behind on one end of his spiky, singed hair, but T.K.O. nonchalantly licked his thumb and index finger and pricked the flame out without care. His breathing was labored and heavy, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He glared daggers at the burnt truck angrily, as if he too was expecting someone to show up from beneath the flames. Sure enough, somebody else did appear from the smoke and fiery inferno, though through a much more dramatic and murderous manner.

"YOU'RE DEAD, YOU LITTLE IMP!"

The mimic ran through and away from the truck's charring remains, an evil and crazed look in its hollow eyes as it set its sights directly at T.K.O.. After being chomped on and thrashed about by this kid, the mimic had just about enough of this nonsense; nothing is going to ruin its chance for "fun" anymore!

T.K.O. readied his stance and he too began sprinting as fast as a racecar towards the incoming mimic, ready to inflict more pain upon this shapeshifting troublemaker once more! Red Action noticed that the two foes were ready to engage into another tireless grudge match and decided to take action right away.

She quickly glanced back at the other heroes. "You guys hold off the mimic! I'll handle K.O.!" she ordered. Everybody nodded without any restraint before they all rushed forward to ambush the mimic while they can.

The mimic was soon ready to pounce upon T.K.O. to give him what for, when suddenly, the shapeshifting goblin found itself intercepted and was harshly tackled to the ground by roughly a dozen heroes, roughly falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes in the process. The mimic snarled and roared in anger, trying to release itself free from the heroes piled on top of its body, but it was no use. Having had a lengthy tussle with T.K.O. had succeeded in tiring out the mimic very much so, so the creature didn't have enough strength right now to counteract this maneuver.

Meanwhile, Red had rushed over and sprang forward like a cheetah to grab the boy, successfully accomplished in grabbing onto T.K.O. before he can cause more danger.

T.K.O. gasped, snarled, and yelled in defiance. He was caught within Red's strong and unbreakable grip and as much as he tried to wiggle free from the Hue Trooper's grasp, it was no use; Red Action had no intentions to let this bad version of K.O. away from her at all costs.

The rebellious boy thrashed about in her arms, his teeth gnashing together painfully. "Let go, you jerk!" he barked towards Red in blind fury, "That mimic is mine to destroy!"

Red calmly kept her emotions in check and never loosened her grip by even a smidge. "No chance, kiddo! You need to calm down right now, dude." she soothed as best as she could.

"I don't need to calm down!" retaliated T.K.O., "I need revenge! I'm not letting that mimic get away for making me and my good self look like fools!"

Red frowned deeply as she kept pinning the boy close to her chest. "You don't need revenge! Look, K.O., I don't know if you can hear me or not, but everything's gonna be alright! I know this mimic is being a real pain in the butt, but you need to calm down and keep your head clear!"

But T.K.O. still wasn't willing to comply. His face contorted into a combination of anger, grief, and embarrassment. The thought of not being able to exact justice upon this mimic and its horrid actions didn't settle well for him.

"I can't! I won't!" he declared with a grunt.

Red only replied by squeezing him harder to her. "Yes, you can…" she soothed, "you are loved and appreciated, K.O.. Please remember that…"

T.K.O. wasn't sure what to think. Although Red's words slowly began to put him only slightly at ease, his mind was flowing with how to deal with this mimic. He still desired to show this mimic what for, but now, he was prevented from doing as such, much to his ire. On top of that, he could now hear the familiar voice of his good self speaking up again to try and drive more sense into him.

"**T.K.O., please listen to Red Action. She only wants to help you…**"

"_Wh-Why should I!? As I recall, she used to see you as a dumb little runt as well! She humiliated you on Social Media!_"

"**Well...yes, but that was long ago. Now, she sees me as a good friend, too! You don't have to resort to such madness!**"

"_Yes, I do! That mimic mocked us! It used scare tactics to try and belittle us! Nobody makes us look like weaklings!_"

"**T.K.O., you know darn well we aren't weaklings or fools! Just trust in Red Action! She is a great friend!**"

T.K.O. growled like a trapped dog within Red's tight embrace. Part of him still wanted to beat this mimic down to a pulp, but with the soothing words of both K.O. and Red Action still floating around his headspace, all T.K.O. could do was sit back and helplessly gaze at the scene before him, watching the mimic dogpiled under a small group of people.

Unfortunately, I'm sorry to say that that notion didn't last too long as the heroes were all unexpectedly sent flying in the air as the mimic then turned into a giant, pink fist, punching the heroes of of its body in one fell swoop. All the heroes partaking in the tussle all stumbled back down to the ground in one big heap, shaken up but not defeated as they noticed the mimic glaring daggers at them all.

"You weaklings think you can get the better of me!?" he screeched, turning its right hand into an ax and its left into a mace, leering threateningly at the crowd of Lakewood Plaza heroes drawing closer to it. The mimic snarled furiously at the heroes were now ready to make their final stand to bum-rush the shapeshifting fiend and put an end to its tyranny.

However, even after being bitten and bashed around by T.K.O., this mimic wasn't going down so quickly without one last brawl.

"_**I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!**_" came the mimic's valiant, headstrong battle cry as it was ready to brave this barrage of incoming heroes as they all swarmed in every direction, all yelling in determination. The only ones left behind were Red Action and the still-held down T.K.O., as they both watched the incoming brawl from the sidelines.

A great collision had occurred between the mimic and the heroes as they were all caught in a large dust cloud brawl. Punches and kicks were landed, shouting matches were constructed between the Lakewood heroes and their foe, and so far, neither side were planning on giving up or losing. It was complete chaos!

Soon enough, in the midst of the fight, the mimic suddenly wound up shooting out of the dust cloud and was soaring upwards into the sky, as if somebody tossed the shapeshifter away from the fight. Before the mimic realized what had happened, it felt its left wrist tighten up harshly.

The mimic looked over to see a thin, pink tongue wrapped around its wrist, as if somebody was using a lasso on the mimic. The mimic gawked in shock, and just about it was about to try and break free, something else suddenly clamped on its right wrist!

A long, green vine shot up and tied itself firmly on the mimic's other wrist, ensnaring it nice and tightly. By now, both of the mimic's arms were held aspread, unable to move in any way. The mimic growled and tried to break itself free, but it was no use as the shapeshifting gremlin was brought back down to the ground harshly. With a grunt and a thud, the mimic landed on its knees, groaning in mild pain and in great annoyance as it tried to comprehend what was going on.

It didn't take long for the mimic to notice what was now occurring. On its left side, it saw Chameleon Jr. using his extendable tongue to grab and stretch out the mimic's left arm with all his might, and then on the mimic's right side, it spied Drupe using the growing vines from her arms to get a tight grip on the mimic's right arm. Together, both heroes were keeping the mimic firmly in place without the creature trying to cause more havoc for now.

The mimic grew even more frantic and enraged. By now, Potato, Nick, Joff, Colewort, Mr. Logic, and Gregg were all gathered around close by the mimic, all giving the gremlin hard stares. The mimic snarled back at them, still trying to break away from Chameleon Jr. and Drupe's grasps..

"Release me or perish, you brightly-colored freaks!" demanded the mimic with a strangled growl, "I have to skin that worthless boy alive for causing so much strife to me!"

"Strife ain't the only thing that's gonna happen to ya, bub!" declared a female voice from nearby. The mimic looked around for the source of the voice and nearly jumped upon seeing it.

The mimic barely had time to register what was happening when suddenly, Punching Judy sprinted through the small crowd and immediately punched the mimic squarely in the face with her right, boxing glove-donned hand! The mimic grunted and seethed as a rush of pain swam through its face. It spat out a single tooth in response.

"It'll take more than a punch to the face to stop me, leotard!" the mimic huffed, almost as if it was taunting straight at Judy.

***SMACK!*** "_Oof!_"

However, a swift punch to the gut, courtesy of Punching Judy, was enough to shut the mimic up for a second. With the mimic having the wind knocked right out of its stomach, it let out a pathetic wheeze and gasp and tried to keep its feet firmly on the ground, its arms still snared up and trapped.

With that done, the stern-faced Judy stepped backwards to let Nick Army stomp up until he was right into the mimic's face, jabbing a beefy index finger right at it. "Alright, you big pink punk! Tell us why we shouldn't blast your behind all the way to Battleburg!" Nick threatened with a growl.

The other heroes voiced their agreements, all desiring to find out about the mimic's true intentions. "Yeah, why are you trying to destroy our plaza!?" snapped Brandon crossly, still clutching the bucket that housed the sorry-looking Real Magic Skeleton in..

"Tell us n-now!" squeaked Colewort, trying to sound intimidating (and failing miserably).

"Squawk! Squawk!" Gregg added angrily.

"Indeed. What are your objective for causing this plight?" questioned Mr. Logic sternly. The mimic detested being bombarded with these questions and threats all at once.

"I ain't telling you all diddly-squat!" it spat back with a growly shout. Punching Judy frowned deeply.

"Wrong answer, buddy!" she retorted. She reeled back her left hand and sent it shooting forward…

***PUNCH!*** "_GAH-HA-HA-HA-HA-OWWWWW!_"

...and landing a hard punch right in the mimic's groin area.

The mimic let out a long and loud howl of distress, pain, and irritation as it stumbled off of its legs and landed on its knees. Writhing in pain while also sitting having its arms suspended by Drupe and Chameleon Jr., the mimic was successfully subdued for now, leaving the other heroes to try and quickly discuss their next move.

"We must attempt to have the mimic revealed its true motives. My statistics say that this fiend is 90% unwilling to give up." Mr. Logic calmly pointed out. Punching Judy huffed and pounded her gloved fists.

"Just give me ten seconds with this bozo, I'll punch the reason why it's hangin' around here out of it…" she challenged, rapidly punching the air as if to prove her point. Colewort trembled fearfully.

"W-We have to do something!" he shuddered, "We can't keep letting this guy terrorize the plaza for so long!"

Everyone quickly tried to think up a decent plan to have the mimic reveal its true intentions, but none knew what to do. That is, until Joff the Shaolin Monk soon came up with an idea of his own.

"Perhaps, I may have a solution to this ordeal…" he mused thoughtfully. Everyone looked at the monk with confusion and intrigue.

"How so, bro?" Nick asked his closest ally. Joff smiled assuringly.

"I shall use my telekinesis to look into our foe's mind to see why it is causing so much wanton destruction to our fair home…" Joff explained in his usual prudent and tranquil manner, "Then, once we find out about the mimic's motives, then we'll figure out a way to properly cease its actions for good."

Punching Judy raised a concerned eyebrow at Joff. "You sure you wanna do such a task, Joff?" she asked carefully.

"Yeah, this mimic means business!" added Potato frightfully.

Joff took in a deep breath of air, his cleared mind made up. "I shall. It's the only way to get this mimic to divulge in its intentions, since simply trying to speak to it isn't working as efficiently as we hoped."

Everyone thought that this plan might be able to work. They all hummed and murmured with agreement at this. Even Nick Army was on board with this, despite that he just really wanted to blow the mimic up to kingdom come. Meanwhile, Drupe and Chameleon Jr. were both still making sure that the mimic (whom was wheezing and coughing up a storm on the ground) was still firmly stuck in place with their powers.

"You guys got a plan or what!?" Drupe shouted, straining to keep the mimic in her sights and grasp, "We don't know how long we can keep this guy held in place!"

"Yeah, wet's huwwy up ahweady!" Chameleon Jr. added, his speech slurred up what with his tongue extended out to grab the mimic's left arm.

With that being said, Joff immediately sprang up high into the air, a look of stony determination etched across his face. After doing a backflip mid-air, he then landed squarely on the mimic's shoulders. The mimic, not expecting such a feat to happen, groaned and nearly toppled over in surprise with Joff sitting on its shoulders, but regardless the mimic tried to get back up on its feet, in defiance to whatever Joff was planning to do.

"Uggh...what...are you d-doing, fool!?" the mimic screeched demandingly. Joff frowned deeply and gave the mimic a stern stare from above.

"Mimic, there must be something clouding up your mind to cause you to resort to such petty insanity. For that, I shall gladly see what goes in that wicked little head of yours to find out how to end this madness…" Joff stated, his tone calm, yet still sharp and straight to the point.

In spite of this, the mimic frowned angrily up at Joff and tried not to look fatigued.

"No chance, baldy!" ranted the mimic, slowly recovering from getting punched in the no-no zone, "I'm not going to let some peace-keeping hippie read my mind! No one shall read what goes on in my head!"

Joff scowled in thought, as if he was challenging the mimic in a way. "Then it pleases me to be the first to do so…" was all that monk could say.

Just then, the six orbs on Joff's head began shining a bright shade of blue, just as the monk then closed his eyes, as to concentrate on one of his power moves. The mimic tried to shake Joff off of it, but it couldn't be able to. Its arms were still incapacitated and the mimic was overall starting to slowly feel tired and weak. With the mimic securely fastened, Joff could carry on trying to read the shapeshifter's mind.

The mimic shuddered and floundered in anguish and discomfort. It groaned from having the weight of the shaolin monk sitting on its shoulders. The poor mimic began to thrash as hard it can, hoping to break away from Joff as soon as humanly possible.

The other Lakewood heroes standing around noticed the mimic's attempts to escape, so they all clamored closer towards the mimic and they all tried to hold down the menace down, as to give Drupe and Chameleon Jr. some extra help. The mimic struggled as hard as it could, trying to flail its arms around to get the two heroes stretching its arms out to back off. Chameleon Jr. and Drupe felt the strain of that and desperately continued to keep the mimic in place, though with some difficulty.

Drupe felt her feet drag along the ground as the mimic tried reeling back its right hand and arm harshly. "Joff, hurry up, please!" she squealed frightfully. Chameleon Jr. wailed in agreement, his tongue beginning to loosen up slightly from how sore it was while gripping on the mimic's other wrist.

Brandon noticed his friends' situations and tried to assess the problem to Joff, who was now looking through the mimic's mind with his telekinetic powers.

"Joff, dude, you better hurry up and find something in that mimic's mind! I ain't sure how long Drupe and Chameleon Jr. can keep this up!" Brandon warned, a look of panic apparent in his facial features. Joff did his best to stay vigilant, his frown wrinkling with anticipation.

"I'm trying, Brandon." Joff replied, still keeping entirely and unwaveringly calm and collected throughout all this, "It would seem our doppelganger foe here is holding mournful thoughts in its mind. As if it is hurting deep inside." Nick Army nearly doubled over from what he heard.

"'Hurting!?'" snapped Nick in disbelief, "What the heck does this jerk have to mourn about!?"

But before an answer can be said, the mimic managed to seize control of its own senses and body once again, reeling back its arms sharply and sending Drupe and Chameleon Jr. careening away in shock.

"WHOA!"

"GAHHH!"

The two heroes stumbled onto the pavement and groaned in pain from having tried to keep a mimic down for some time now. Then, the mimic was freely able to grab the stunned Joff off of its shoulders and flung him away towards Nick, sending both male heroes toppling off of their feet. Luckily, they were both more surprised than hurt.

Next, as a means to get the other heroes off of it, the mimic was able to turn into another new form without any strain. The mimic shone white and quickly morphed its shape; a shape with a large round head and eight, long tentacle-like tendrils swinging around threateningly.

With that, the mimic let out a screeching howl in its giant octopus form, complete with angry yellow eyes, a large and menacing beak, and eight thick and strong-looking tentacles. One tentacle swooped in and swept away all the heroes (barring Red Action and T.K.O., both still safely away from the action), sending them all flying in the air and crash-landing in a big pile just in front of Mr. Gar's Bodega.

The heroes groaned and felt their bruises before they all gazed up to see the mimic from afar, screeching and growling loudly, its roars echoing all around Lakewood Plaza. They all got back up on their feet, some of them breathing heavily from how exhausted they were.

"So much for…*gasp*...that working…" Punching Judy huffed. Joff exhaled tiredly.

"Indeed...unfortunately, I wasn't able to try and pinpoint the mimic's true source of anguish. It seemed like it was trying to keep its memories hidden away in its mind." the monk explained shamefully. Suddenly, Gregg then piped up with a few distressed squawks, arms a-flailing. Everyone directed their attention towards the bird with bafflement.

"What's that, Gregg?" Real Magic Skeleton asked the bird-person curiously from inside his bucket.

"Squawk-squawk-squawk! Squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk! Squawk!" was what Gregg declared frantically. Nick Army seemed to understand where Gregg was going with this and put on a brave face.

"Gregg's right!" Nick stated, "Regardless of how this mimic is feeling, it must be stopped! We can't risk having this mimic tear up our plaza! This is our home!"

He then marched up in front of the heroes and turned towards them, like an army general addressing his troops. "Everyone, we must continue to protect our plaza. It is both our duty and our calling to save and protect those in need; a code to every up-and-coming hero!"

Everyone gazed in awe at Nick as he rallied the others with his wise and uplifting speech. "We shall protect!" continued Nick passionately, "We shall persevere! And most importantly, we shall win! For the name of Lakewood Plaza Turb-"

***WHIP!***

"OOOOOOOOOOOH, COB, HELP ME! GAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Just as Nick was wrapping up his speech, the mimic extended one of its tentacles and got a death-lock around Nick Army's body, just before the mimic began flailing Nick around, whom in question was screaming his head off as this happened.

Gregg, Joff, Potato, Colewort, Drupe, Brandon, RMS, Chameleon Jr., and Mr. Logic all gasped in absolute terror at the sight of this! Before they could all even think about panicking, Punching Judy (who was trying to keep her cool) glared in determination as Nick was flung about in the air like a hapless rag doll, thanks to their shapeshifting foe.

Judy turned back towards the others and spoke up in her most serious tone. "Well, what are we waitin' for, guys!? For Lakewood Plaza Turbo!"

Judy then ran straight towards the mimic as fast as an Olympic runner, leaving behind the others in her dust. Luckily, the others managed to gather enough courage inside of themselves to willingly join Judy in this next phase of the battle.

"FOR LAKEWOOD PLAZA TURBO!" came their combined rally cry.

The group of heroes roared like the crowd at a Megafootball game, all stampeding towards the mimic's octopus form before the good side and the bad side clashed together once more in another cloud ball of violence and action. As this happened, T.K.O., still safely clasped in Red Action's arms, couldn't take sitting around on the sidelines anymore. _He_ was supposed to show this mimic a lesson! Not these bozos!

He struggled as hard as possible to escape Red's clutches, but it ultimately proved to be fruitless for now, especially with the red-colored Hue Trooper trying to keep the wild child in reigns.

"K.O., stop it!" she snapped, "You gotta break free from this edgier side of ours!"

T.K.O. snarled defiantly. "No...I...will...not!" he emphasized, "I wanna fight!"

Red's eyes flared in determination. She tightened her embrace even harder. "NO! You are _not_ getting involved!"

T.K.O. let out his most enraged growl yet! He wanted so badly to beat up this mimic for making a pathetic fool out of him and K.O.! He started lurched back and forth to shake Red away, snarling up a storm as his beady, anger-laced eyes stared daggers at the mimic, whom was being bombarded by the other Lakewood heroes as we speak.

He couldn't take anymore of this waiting around! He was going to teach this mimic a lesson and that was that! No one was going to stop him, not Red Action and certainly not K.O.! Gaining enough inner strength, T.K.O. began to attempt to break free one last time!

"YES..._I_..._**AM!**_"

And then, with a great heave, T.K.O. pushed himself forward hard enough to propel him away from Red Action's grip, right before he stumbled face-first onto the ground. Red was startled by this cause of action, but luckily, she was quick enough to tightly grab T.K.O. by his ankles before the boy could scamper off. T.K.O. felt the strain of having the rebellious future-hopping teen trying to hold him back, but unfortunately for Red, T.K.O. was quite strong and durable, so regardless of nearly being dragged away by Red, the boy simply crawled slowly, but surely closer to the battle, craving to join in and give the mimic a true lesson in revenge.

Red Action began to notice that she was now getting dragged along during this farce, watching in shock to see T.K.O. grip the pavement, shuffling and slithering towards the mimic fighting off against the heroes of Lakewood Plaza! She began to cry out distressingly at the vengeance-driven boy.

"K.O.! Stop it! Calm down!" she tried to shout, but T.K.O. was having none of it! Nothing's getting in-between him and this mimic! Even K.O. piping up during this ordeal wasn't getting through to him.

"**T.K.O.! This ain't gonna help you at all! Listen to Red Action already, please!**" K.O. cried, his voice flowing with sadness and fear. In spite of this, not even K.O. was enough break T.K.O.'s mindset free from this as he promptly ignored K.O.'s voice altogether! He just kept on crawled across the parking lot pavement with Red dragging behind him, strung up by his legs, as only one goal swam through his mind.

This mimic needs to be taught a lesson...a lesson in pain.

It was pure, unadulterated calamity! Red Action was still trying to keep T.K.O. away from the battle, in which the other heroes were now involved with, and a passed-out Beardo was left safely secured away from the fight, leaned against a parked car not too far away from his burnt food truck as he continued dozing away woozily, unaware of what was going on at this moment.

Deep down, Red could only hope that Radicles and Enid were closer to finding Gary soon to cease this madness for good.

* * *

"Ms. Mummy, are you sure this path leads us to Gary?" Radicles asked worriedly, "I feel like we've passed through this hallway already…"

"Just a few more steps, guys…" she assured, "We'll be there soon enough…" Enid sighed to herself.

"I hope so...now that T.K.O. has joined this fight, there's no telling how much destruction could happen to Lakewood Plaza…" she fretted softly.

Enid, Rad, and Ms. Mummy had all trekked through many corridors, hallways, and rooms leading to the fastest route to reach Gary's domain in the bodega's stock room. It was a tiring and long journey, but Enid and Rad weren't ready to give up. Now with T.K.O. involved in this whole incident, they knew that had to complete their mission post-haste before any more trouble could befall on them.

However, even though not much time has passed since Rad and Enid came across their mummified friend, the two bodega workers still felt they've been roaming around the stockroom for hours now, and they also felt as though they weren't making any progress in finding Gary himself to boot. It wasn't that they didn't trust Ms. Mummy's guidance or help in any way, they were just feeling antsy and worried was all.

Their last experience in searching around the stockroom some time ago was solely evident why the two teens didn't like going through this area as of now.

After a couple more kilometers of traipsing down a dimly-lit passageway, Ms. Mummy turned back to the teens following her. "Okay, fellas. We're nearly there to Gary's usual place." she assured, "Just keep up the pace and we'll be there in no time!"

Radicles groaned in both relief and exhaustion. "Ugh, I hope so…" he bemoaned, "I'm so tired I can't even flex my perfect muscles…" Enid wheezed and shared his empathy.

"I'm so tired I can't even bother to insult you…" she replied back to the alien in agreement, too winded to even attempt to give out one of her famous snarky quips and cracks. Ms. Mummy gazed in sympathy at her friends just as they all slowly neared closer to an open doorway leading out of the hallway.

"Just a bit further, you two…" calmed Ms. Mummy, "We're just about there…"

Ms. Mummy was right; in no time, the three heroes found themselves entering into a blue, barely-lit room filled with shelves stacked with crates and boxes, and with numerous large tunnels poking from one end of the room. A small set of brick-made stairs were seen, leading up to a pedestal where a mysterious man dressed in thick robes was spotted standing silently in place.

To everyone's delight and relief, this man was indeed Gary.

Enid, Rad, and Ms. Mummy wasted no time pitter-pattering up the stairs with big, hopeful smiles adorned on their faces, grateful to see their rarely-seen ally once more. "Oh, thank the Corn Shephard himself!" Enid gasped with a great sigh, "Gary! We need your help! Immediately!"

No answer came from the hooded wizard. Gary's cloaked head remained hanging low, and his body stood deathly still, with the only noise producing from him being steady breathing. The trio were understandably confused and worried; Gary was normally so vigilant while he guarded the stockroom. Radicles boldly stepped forward to try and see if Gary was okay.

"Uh, Gary, bro? You doin' okay?" he asked carefully. Still, no answer. Fearing the worst out of this situation, Enid came closer to Gary's statue-like stance and reached over to grab his hood to reveal his head.

"C'mon, Gary! We really need your help!" she begged, slowly pulling back the hood to reveal…

...Gary's sleeping head.

Enid grimaced in annoyance upon seeing the troll-like sage simply dozing away, drool trickling from his open mouth with a snot bubble inflating and deflating from his nose. The ninja girl growled and poked the bubble with a finger, which was enough to cause Gary to steadily wake up from his slumber.

"Yo, Gary! Get your butt up! We got trouble brewin' at the plaza!" barked Enid impatiently, snapping her fingers wildly in front of his face. Gary snorted, stammered, and groaned upon his awakening, his senses still foggy as he did his best to stay on both of his feet.

"*snort* Huh-whah? Err, w-who dares to traverse through these caverns!?" Gary uttered out as bravely as he can be, trying to shake himself awake and to be as sharp-eyed and foreboding as he needed to be, "Thou intruders shall meet the wrath of a thousand suns and...and…"

Gary, slowly finding all six of his senses kicking off into overdrive, was now able to decipher who exactly these "intruders" really were in reality. With a few blinks of his big eyes, Gary was soon managing to regain his ability of sight, taking in the three figures before him with much more cleared senses. Upon seeing the odd assortment of heroes in front of him, he gave the threesome a more subdued and much friendlier tone and expression.

"Oh, 'ey, guys!" he greeted in his regular, laid-back manner, "'Ow's it hangin'?"

Enid let out a tired groan, giving Gary her most serious face ever. "Gary, we're having big trouble at Lakewood Plaza, and we all really need your help…" she bluntly stated. Gary's eyes widened in surprise; he wasn't sleepy anymore after hearing this!

"Oh, my stars…" he gasped, "'Ow so? What's the danger?"

Rad rubbed his left arm nervously. "A mimic is kinda causing havoc to the plaza as we speak." he explained, "From the looks of it, it must've escaped from this stockroom here…" Gary felt himself letting out a heavy sigh, his face looking quite dour and guilty.

"Oh, Lord...this _is_ serious, indeed…" he muttered softly. Ms. Mummy meekly walked forward and closer to the three.

"Is there any way you can help us?" she asked in concern. Despite how somber his tone was, Gary did manage in giving the group a reassuring smile in return.

"Of course I can…" he replied humbly and comfortingly, with his response to this being three well-assured and thankful smiles, "Though it may be a bit tricky. Mimics are certainly crafty, speedy, and resilient little buggers…"

"You're telling us…" snarked Rad quietly, rolling his eyes.

"One of the best ways to cease this creature's actions is by casting a freezing spell on it, thus encasing its body in ice to halt it in its tracks. Once we do that, then we'll all find out 'ow to dispose of the mimic afterwards once things settle down…" continued Gary as helpfully as he can. Enid beamed in determination.

"Alright, sounds good to me. So far, we tried almost everything to take this punk down, and so far, nothing managed to slow this guy down!" she said. Rad nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's like this freak is invincible!" he pointed out. Gary scratched his chin in thought.

"Did you guys try to attack it with magic, by any chance?" the sage asked curiously. Enid and Rad both frowned sadly.

"We tried to. We have a magic skeleton at the plaza who tried to use his own spell to slow down this mimic, but he wasn't strong enough to stop him…" explained Enid softly. Gary nodded in understanding.

"Ah, I see...usually, heroes with higher magical stats could be able to easily take down mimics without any trouble." she sighed, before his face contorted into a determined and brave face, "Well, luckily, you lot have me to assist you all in this endeavor!"

That made Enid, Ms. Mummy, and Rad all smile broadly. Now the conclusion to this endgame shall end well for them this time!

Gary then walked over to a wooden podium, which had a large, dusty, ancient spell book perched on top. The book had golden lining and binders, and the front cover had Latin words printed on it. Gary opened the tomb to find a specific page he wanted to find.

"Hmm, let's see here...frog spells, fire spells...ah-ha! Freezing spells!" he exclaimed, gazing at the page of freezing spells with intrigue and glee, "I just have to repeat the spell and I'll be able to freeze the mimic in place!"

"Then we better get out of here and join in on the fight!" Enid put in, jogging in place, "K.O.'s still out there and we can't risk him getting too close to that mimic for any longer!"

"I can try and lead us to a much quicker route out of this room, if possible?" offered Ms. Mummy, hoping to get this show on the road as quickly as the others were. But before she can walk away, Gary gently stopped her from leaving.

"There's no more need to continue wandering aimlessly through these hallways, my dears." he smiled warmly, "Not with somebody like me around!" Enid raised an eyebrow.

"Uh...how so?" she asked.

Gary smiled knowingly. Flipping through a couple more pages in his spell book, he came across another page that revealed one way to escape this maze of a stockroom post haste: teleportation.

Closing his eyes, Gary began easing his mind in order to focus on the spell, thus eliciting electrical power surges around him and the other three heroes nearby him. Radicles, Enid, and Ms. Mummy huddled close together, in hopes to not be separated when they wind up teleporting out of this chamber.

Tense seconds ticked away. Electricity crackled around Gary as if he was Zeus controlling storms around him. With his mind focused and his spell ready to commence, he opened his eyes (which were now shining bright yellow) and began shouting out the teleportation spell in Latin at the top of his lungs.

"_TELEPORTATION IN PLATEA!_"

The phrase boomed across the vast and spacious room, its echo bouncing loudly against the walls and hallways. Gary, Enid, Ms. Mummy, and Rad were all engulfed in swirling, sparkling electrical bolts, almost as if they were trapped in a mini-tornado. Papers and other tiny bits of trash whooshed in the air, all caught in the harsh electrical winds forming within the room.

In no time at all, the lightning began growing brighter and stronger. Smoke began to pour around the heroes out from nowhere...

***KA-BOOM!*** ***POOF!***

...and with that all said and done, Gary, Radicles, Enid, and Ms. Mummy had instantly vanished from the room in a flash of lightning and a puff of purple smoke, all now instantly teleporting their way towards outside of Lakewood Plaza to join the fight and to put this mimicry madness to a definite end once and for all!

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

**And so ends another chapter, guys!**

**Once again, I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Between working on this chapter, other stories, trying to keep a decent schedule going, and balancing work and my home life right now, it had been a tiring July overall. But now, with only one chapter and an epilogue left, we're all in the home stretch now, baby!**

**Writing for this chapter was pretty fun, ngl. Using underused characters like Nick Army, Joff, Punching Judy, Ms. Mummy, and Chameleon Jr. was a pretty interesting task to go through with, and giving them a little something to do to help out during the battle was just as challenging, but still fun in a way.**

**And yes, that scene with Joff reading the mimic's mind and the conversation along with it was indeed a rip-off to that one scene in Avengers: Infinity War, I know… ;)**

**With this chapter done, I'll also be trying to work up on other OK K.O. stories in the meantime, considering that the show's reaching its definite end (rest in peace :'( ), but in spite of that, I shall continue to make many more OK K.O. fics for a long while! So until then, keep an eye out for when Gary, Rad, Enid, and Ms. Mummy join the battle in the true climax of the story when Chapter Six: Madness at the Mall arrives later on!**

**~Thunderbyrd**


	6. Chapter 6: Madness at the Mall

**We're getting into the home stretch now, everyone! :D**

**When we last left our heroes, we have T.K.O. desperately trying to rejoin the fight against the mimic, but with Red Action trying to prevent that from happening while the other heroes take part in the battle against the mimic themselves, while meanwhile, Radicles, Enid, and Ms. Mummy have managed to gain Gary's assistance so that he could put an end to this mess. How will it all play out in the end, though? Let's find out! ;)**

**OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun).**

* * *

**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**CHAPTER SIX: MADNESS AT THE MALL**

"K.O., come on! You don't need to fight the mimic! Please, listen!"

"Err, no, I won't! I'm...gonna...fight...this mimic...NOW!"

"**T.K.O., just stop already! Listen to Red Action! Just give in!**"

"Grrr, stay out of this, you pacifistic runt! This is _my_ fight!"

"**No, it's not! T.K.O., just back off, **_**please!**_"

"Grr...NEVER!"

T.K.O. was currently trying to crawl his way closer to the action, where a dozen of the plaza's most prominent heroes were trying to hold down the monstrous mimic as it was fighting off said heroes in the form of a giant octopus. Unfortunately, he himself was being held back by Red Action, who was doing her hardest to hold back T.K.O., which proved fruitless as the boy in question was clawing away the pavement, trying to reach the mimic to show it what for. As this was going on, the passed-out Beardo was still perched safely away from the ordeal close to the smoldered remains of his food truck, still unconscious but alive.

And from the looks of it, the other heroes were starting to show fatigue from fighting this mimic for so long, but even so, they all still didn't plan on giving up regardless. Overall, it was pure chaos at the plaza, and it didn't seem like it would be stopping anytime soon.

As this was all happening, none of them hadn't bothered to notice that, from a few feet away, some crackles of electricity appeared out of thin air, zapping away as a swirling vortex suddenly formed a couple of feet above the ground.

The portal whooshed and hung in the sky for a few moments until, suddenly, four figures came flying out of the vortex and were sent plummeting down to Earth, the figures being in the forms of a buff and blue alien, a purple-haired ninja teen, a mummy girl, and a cloaked goblin wizard.

Rad, Enid, Ms. Mummy, and Gary all fell to the ground with harsh thuds, all of them groaning and sprawled on the plaza's parking lot just as the vortex immediately began to disappear in a puff of smoke and a crackle of lightning.

The four heroes managed to get back on their feet to feel their bruises and brush off the electrical sparks off of them before they finally felt ready enough to join in the fight at last.

"Alright…" groaned Enid, feeling a bit groggy from Gary's teleportation spell, "We better assess the situation fast…"

***SCREEEEEECH!***

The shrill, bone-chilling shriek of something big and angry filled the air and caught the attention of Enid and the others as they turned to the source of the noise and gazed in terror at the mimic in its octopus form, trying to get an upper hand at the numerous Lakewood Plaza Turbians surrounding and battling it. Punches were blown, kicks were landed, and defiant shouts and growls echoed everywhere. Nick Army was still wrapped tightly within one of the mimic's tentacles, with Punching Judy trying to punch away at that arm to release him. Joff, Potato, Brandon, Colewort, and Mr. Logic tried releasing a never-ending barrage of punches and kicks to slow down the mimic, while Drupe and Chameleon Jr. were using their respective vine whip / tongue powers to lash harshly at the mimic's face. Gregg was busily attempting to harshly peck away at any open part of the mimic's body. And Real Magic Skeleton, still reduced to being a disconnected pile of limbs in a bucket, tried to help regardless by biting at one the mimic's tentacles, seeing as his magic was now stalled thanks to the cracked gem on his chest.

Gary seemed to be very horrified by this scene in particular. His pupils shrank and his face wrinkled with dread and regret.

"Oh, my Lord…" he gasped, "This really _is_ serious...had I known this would've happened, I could've prevented this sooner...I just _had_ to fall asleep while on patrol, had I?"

Enid, Rad, and Ms. Mummy each looked back at Gary with confused and worried faces. "Gary, don't be like that…" Ms. Mummy assured, "You couldn't have known a mimic would actually escape the stockroom." Enid nodded.

"Ms. Mummy's right. This was all just a crazy occurrence." added Enid, though Gary still wasn't fully convinced.

"Still, doesn't change the fact that I should've properly dealt with this mimic beforehand. That way, this mess would have never happened in the first place." he declared softly, his tone of voice low and sorrowful.

He clenched his fists tightly. Gary has helped protect and guard the bodega back rooms for many, many years from various dangerous creatures, from gloops to mimics to imps. It was a task that he had graciously accepted and lived by for a long period of time, as per Mr. Gar's requests for him to keep the stockroom of his bodega safe from harm. Before K.O. and even Rad and Enid were hired to become part of Mr. Gar's new crew, Gary has kept the back room of the store safe and protected from harm, even if he was the only other person to reside back there, with no other heroes to talk to.

It was a lonesome job, but it was honorable and valiant job as well.

As Gary continued self-shaming himself, Enid and Radicles looked at the mimic fighting off against their Lakewood friends with awe and concern. Seeing the mimic in this massive and powerful octopus form made them both feel actually scared to fight against this thing now. However, they then spotted something that made them feel _really_ worried now.

The sight of Red Action tirelessly holding back a certain wild-haired and angsty boy, preventing him from joining in the fray. Enid and Rad gasped shakily, their faces wrinkling in devastation.

"T.K.O.." whispered Enid softly, watching the boy's bad self struggle to get back into the fight once more.

She in particular dreaded the idea of having to spar against T.K.O. again. Even if Red Action said he was mainly targeting his anger towards the mimic, Enid couldn't help but worry greatly for K.O.'s own sake. She, along with Radicles, Mr. Gar, and even Carol, knew that T.K.O. was a formidable foe, in his own right. He was unstable, unkempt, and unpredictable. With K.O. now trapped in the emo kid's mind, allowing T.K.O. in question to roam around freely without restraint.

She could already imagine how scared and confused K.O. is right now. The thought of her surrogate little brother feeling so weak and helpless gave her sensations of anger, sadness, and fear.

'_How in Cob's name are we gonna bring K.O. back to normal?_' she thought wearily, sweat beading down her face. She knew that she, Radicles, and the others had to bring K.O. back to his senses, but exactly how?

Radicles, meanwhile, groaned irritably, breaking Enid from her thoughts. "Oh, that's just perfect!" he griped, "A mimic _and_ T.K.O. at once!? What else could happen now!?"

***RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!*** ***WHOOSH!***

No sooner had Rad said that, the sky grew an abnormal shade of purple. The clouds above began circling around, letting only a gap of sunlight shine down upon the whole group of heroes. Just then, a roaring noise resonated from high above, as then, shooting down from the heavens and through the clouds, a large, lavender-colored box was seen plummeting down to Earth at a fast rate.

And with the box having a clearly-prominent "BM" on its front, there was only one thing that this was going to occur.

The large crate landed on the plaza parking lot with a thunderous crash and its four sides immediately creaked open, revealing what sort of package this box was delivering. Enid, Ms. Mummy, and Gary gawked in terror to see who these newcomers were as they unceremoniously joined the fray.

Rad, meanwhile, felt his eye twitch uncontrollably as he gave the robots a deadly, unamused glare. One of them, a one-eyed 'bot with red paint and an exposed brain module, cackled annoyingly at the group as he pointed a laser cannon directly at them.

"How do you do, Lakewood Losers!?" sneered Darrell giddily. The tall, handsome, green robot next to him shot the heroes a sweet, but coy smile as he posed dramatically.

"The gods above have graced you with our presence once more…" Raymons boasted smoothly as the orange female android between him and Darrell suddenly brandished a pair of sawblades from her hands, a crazed look shining in her eyes.

"Because we, the BoxMore 'Bots, are here to cause havoc to your precious little plaza once again!" shrieked Shannon with demented delight. Darrell then began charging his laser cannon, ready to blast the group of heroes into dust.

"Say your prayers, Lakewood-"

***WARBLE-WARBLE-WARBLE!***

"...losers?"

Before Darrell could finish his taunt, he, Raymond, and Shannon were suddenly caught in a purple-colored ray of some sort. They all froze in shock to see Radicles from afar, his face wrinkled with increasingly rage, raised his right hand and used his telekinetic powers to grab and trap the BoxMore 'Bots in place before they could be the first to attack. Radicles growled furiously, his patience wearing thinner by the second.

"_We. Don't. Have. Time. For. This. __**NONSENSE!**_" he roared defiantly, his eyes red and bloodshot out of stress.

Just then, he used his powers to fold up the sides of the large crate that the 'Bots have arrived in before he then enclosed the box back around the Box-Bots once more. Then, with a clench of his right fist, he used his telekinesis to cause the box to suddenly begin imploding in on itself, its sides and edges getting mangled as the large cube began warping into a new shape…

...with the BoxMore 'Bots still inside of the box…

Enid, Gary, and Ms. Mummy cringed and recoiled in horror at this display, even if the victims involved in this occurrence were the dastardly BoxMore' Bots. Rad's expression, meanwhile, was that of pure stoic disdain. The horrific sounds of crunching metal, grinding gears, and terrified muffled screams echoed in the air when, after a few tense seconds of agony, Rad molded the box into that of a condensed and misshapen sphere.

With the BoxMore 'Bots still smushed up and trapped inside their spherical tomb, Radicles swung his arm back, sending the ball high in the sky before he then shot his arm forward again, releasing the malformed box from his telekinetic grip and sent it spiraling through the air like a pitcher throwing a baseball, away from Lakewood Plaza...

***WHOOSH!*** ***KA-BOOOOOOM!***

...and sent it hurtling straight back to BoxMore HQ, causing a massive, fiery explosion as it collided with a section of the factory. Soon, one-third of the factory was up in blazing smoke, the BoxMore 'Bots having been finished just as fast as it began.

Enid, Ms. Mummy and Gary stared in silent awe at the spectacle they had all just witnessed before looking back towards Radicles, who simply let out a tired sigh as he glanced back at Gary with a stoic face.

"So, any chance we can stop this dumb mimic now?" the alien asked him exhaustively. Gary blinked and broke away from his stunned stupor.

"Er, uh, right, of course…" muttered Gary softly. He then looked back towards the others. "Enid, Rad, take care of your little friend. Ms. Mummy, you try and get the others to hold the mimic in place while I cast a freezing spell on him."

Enid and Rad nodded. "You got it, Gary!" rallied Enid.

"Roger dodger!" said Rad, pumping his fists.

"We'll do our best!" agreed Ms. Mummy.

Radicles and Enid bolted away to accomplish their mission, whereas Ms. Mummy sprinted away towards the mimic. Gary stood back, clutching his spell book as he looked up at the mimic, whom was still too busy fighting off the Lakewood heroes to notice Gary's arrival. Gary exhaled and mustered the strength to face off against this shapeshifting foe, a plan forming in his head.

'_Okay…_' he thought to himself, '_Let's do this…_'

Soon enough, Ms. Mummy had arrived to join the battle, ready to help her fellow Lakewood friends cease the mimic's violence. As she spotted Nick Army, still flailing in the air while clutched in one the mimic's tentacles, she quickly unsheathed some of the wrapping around her arms, swung them about in place like a pair of lassos, and lashed them up at the tentacle with full force.

The mimic felt a tug at one of its eight tendrils, spotting a female mummy grasp at its limb with maximum effort. She even managed to try and pull the tentacle back, in an effort to safely bring the surprised Nick Army back to the ground. The mimic snarled down at the mummy with deep annoyance.

"Another hero!? I'll squish her along with the rest of these pitiful freaks!" growled the mimic to no one in particular.

It was just about to use its remaining seven tentacles to all grab at Ms. Mummy at once, until she in question had succeeded in saving Nick Army as he slipped out of the mimic's grip.

Nick felt dizzy and woozy from being whipped and swung in the air like a rag doll, but he still had the energy to fight back. "Ugh, oof...what a ride. Thanks, Ms. Mummy." Nick thanked, lethargic, but grateful.

Ms. Mummy nodded, determined. "No problem, let's buy this guy some time so that Gary can-"

***SWIPE!*** ***CLENCH!*** "EEEEK! HELP ME!"

Nick Army gasped in terror as suddenly, without warning, the mimic angrily and rapidly grabbed at Ms. Mummy, dangling the terrified, mummified woman mid-air with a single tentacle. Even the other heroes currently involved in the brawl were shocked to see their new ally in danger. Ms. Mummy screamed in surprise as the mimic began laughing up a storm.

"HA-HA-HA! Silly mummy! You think your added assistance will help your friends!? Such foolishness!" it cackled, taking delight in mocking the new arrival.

Ms. Mummy thrashed inside the mimic's grip. Its octopus form was too strong to escape freely, but even so, she still had an ace up her sleeve. She managed in freeing her right arm as to move it around again. She turned towards the mimic with a determined look. She clenched her right fist angrily.

"Let's see who'll be foolish now…" she growled lowly.

Just then, she reeled back her fist to charge up a punch. Afterwards, she threw her fist forward like a bullet shooting out of a handgun. As she did this, the wrappings around her arm loosened up greatly, meaning that Ms. Mummy was able to extend her punch farther than usual. As her arm stretched at a great distance, leaving only her fist to be still connected to her right shoulder by loose mummy tape, Ms. Mummy was able to successfully land a perfect punch right at the mimic...

***SMACK!*** "_YEEEE-OUCH!_"

...squarely in its open right eye.

The mimic recoiled in pain, its eye throbbing from the punch's striking blow. It was enough to cause the mimic to let go of Ms. Mummy, letting her drop down to the ground, safely on her feet, and giving her ample time to rejoin her friends as the mimic roared and stumbled around in pain. Ms. Mummy gasped, trying to catch her breath as the other heroes swarmed over to check on her.

"Ms. Mummy! Are ya okay?" Punching Judy asked worriedly. Ms. Mummy groaned, trying to keep her legs from giving out.

"I'll be fine…" she assured softly, "Let's just worry about slowing down this mimic…"

Suddenly, a large and dark shadow hauntingly loomed over the group. Ms. Mummy, Judy, and the others looked up in fear as the mimic glared down at them, its right eye blackened and puffy due to the aforementioned mummy girl's punch. It snorted and growled, twitching in rising anger.

"Slow me down, huh?" challenged the mimic ruefully, "You heroes are as hopeless as you are persistent. Nothing can slow me down!"

The mimic raised its tentacles in the air, all eight of them waving about threateningly and ready to scoop up the heroes in one fell swoop. Ms. Mummy, however, wasn't deterred by this.

"We'll see about that!" she shot back, turning back to the other heroes behind her, "Come on, guys! We can take down this mimic! Lakewood heroes never give up!"

That was enough to elicit a positive, determined reaction from the small crowd, as they all cheered and

"Yeah! Let's do it!" whooped Punching Judy.

"LET'S GET SOME!" bellowed Nick Army.

Soon enough, Ms. Mummy, Nick, Joff, Judy, Chameleon Jr., Gregg, Potato, Colewort, Mr. Logic, Drupe, Brandon, and RMS yelled loud enough to have the noise echo across the plaza, all twelve heroes rushing forward like an angry mob before they all leaped high into the air, ready to strike again at their mimic fiend, who in question readied itself for another tireless battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, as this was happening, Radicles and Enid were rushing over to Red Action as fast as they could. Red, in question, was still keeping the angry T.K.O. at bay, but with tons of strain. T.K.O. clawed at the pavement like a wild animal, his teeth gritting and gnashing painfully.

"Grrr...LET GO ALREADY!" he roared back at Red Action, trying to kick her away. Red dodged the kicks directly aimed at her face, still keeping a tight grip on the boy, keeping him well away from the action.

Even so, Red was hoping that Enid and Rad would arrive already. '_C'mon, Enid...where the heck are you already!?_' she thought worriedly.

Suddenly, a voice rang out to her. "RED! IT'S US! WE'RE COMING!"

Red Action turned her head around and beamed with excitement and relief at what she saw: her purple-haired and tan-skinned savior.

"ENID!" she cried out. T.K.O. noticed this as well and scowled as he too saw the two teens approaching them.

"Huh!? Those two!?" he growled, his eyes wide with disbelief. Now he had to deal with a mimic _and_ these two bozos again!?

K.O., still trapped in the recesses of T.K.O.'s mind, was ecstatic and filled with relief on the other hand. "**Oh, good! Rad and Enid! They'll help us out now! Things will be okay!**"

T.K.O. snarled at the voice in his head. "_Butt out of this, shrimp!_" he barked internally, "_Those two losers ain't stoppin' me from beating down that mimic!_" He then heard his good self growl irritably in response.

"**They aren't losers! They're my **_**friends!**_" retorted K.O. valiantly, the hint of anger laced in his voice clearly present.

T.K.O. was just about to say something else back at K.O.'s inner voice until Red Action quickly let go of his knees to let Enid and Rad do their thing. T.K.O. gasped in sudden shock; he was just ready to scamper away to finally bring the smackdown on the mimic, until someone else forced him away from the action once again.

***POUNCE!*** "OOF!"

Alas, T.K.O. hadn't the time to properly react to all of this as then, he felt himself tackled by Enid, who took a diving leap to grab onto the angst-ridden boy, hugging him tightly in her arms. T.K.O. was beside with shock, writhing within Enid's loving (though hasty) grasp with horror and disgust.

"Grr...hey! Get your hands off me, cashier!" demanded T.K.O., shuddering and growling like a caged pitbull. However, his demand fell onto deaf ears as Radicles bounded over to join Enid as he too gave T.K.O. a strong, brotherly hug.

Red Action heaved herself off the ground, watching the scene in awe and concern. T.K.O., meanwhile, felt like he was about to get tortured. He squirmed and rocked back and forth in the two teens' embrace, seething and snarling.

Enid and Radicles didn't loosen up their hug for even an instant, as the former leaned her head forward close to T.K.O.'s right ear. "K.O.? Can you hear me, sweetie? Are ya in there?" she asked in her most softest voice ever.

T.K.O. said nothing; he just jostled and growled to himself. It was then Rad's turn to try and talk some sense into his little friend.

"C'mon, little bro. You gotta pull through. You don't need to do this." he assured calmly. T.K.O. snarled, nearly foaming at the mouth in rising agitation.

"_Yes, I do!_" he barked back. Enid frowned sternly down at T.K.O., though her eyes still shined with sisterly care and concern.

"No, you _don't._" she retorted civilly, "You don't need to unleash your bad side to teach this mimic a lesson. That's why we recruited Gary to properly help us with that." T.K.O. frowned deeply.

"This ain't his fight!" he insisted angrily, "This is my fight! Only between me and that shapeshifting freak! And with no involvement with that puny, pesky K.O.!"

"**Hey!**" squeaked out the hero boy in question from inside T.K.O.'s mind.

"_I SAID BUTT OUT!_" T.K.O. fired back internally, having enough of this nonsense already.

Red Action watched the scene unfold before her with anxiety. She wasn't totally sure if she should get involved in this or not. Admittedly, while she and K.O. had gotten off to a rocky start during their first meeting, over time, she did soften up greatly to the little boy, to the point of Red willingly accepting K.O. as a true companion and friend. She stood a few inches away, contemplating on what to do, before she noticed T.K.O.'s movements.

The gloomy, spiky boy began to jerk harshly around with his friend's grasp. He bared his shark-like teeth, thrashing around in an attempt to free himself from Enid and Rad, whom in turn were desperately doing their best to keep a firm grip on T.K.O. to keep him from running away again.

Luckily, Red Action knew what to do to prevent this situation from escalating into a bigger problem. She lept forward to where Enid and Rad sat, and then, without a single word, she swung over in front of T.K.O. to give him a tightening hug as well.

T.K.O.'s eyes boggled in horror; now he's got _three_ pesky heroes hugging him, keeping him away from the mimic!? He looked up at Red Action with a baffled and furious expression, whereas Red simply gave the boy a calming, easy-going, but serious and caring look.

"K.O., if you are in there and if you can hear me, please know that you don't have to go through with this. That mimic was only trying to psych you out. You are not a worthless, puny nobody...you are one of the most bravest and more compassionate heroes I've ever met. You're courteous, determined, and you have loads of friends that love and will always help you out...you just have to know that, K.O.."

T.K.O. paused his thrashing and growling for a minute, only to listen to what Red Action was saying to him. Her voice sounded so...soft and sweet, as opposed to the Hue Trooper's tendency to be wild and snarky all the time. It wasn't long until Radicles and Enid both joined in on reassuring T.K.O. as well.

"Red's right, K.O.. Squaring off against that mimic by yourself isn't going to work...you getting revenge is just going to cause more trouble. Plus, you can get seriously hurt in the process. You just need to calm down, little dude. Breathe and let it all out…" Rad assured, hushing down his little friend to the best of his ability. Enid nodded, smiling warmly.

"Exactly, K.O.. Just let Gary do his job and things will be okay. Just know that, whatever happens, K.O., is that we all love you very much. You'll always be like a little brother to us, and you'll always be seen as a great hero. Whatever that mimic said was untrue...you matter to us, K.O.. Please understand that…" murmured Enid from the bottom of her heart.

At this point, T.K.O. wasn't sure what to do or think about all this! His eyes felt watery, for what reason he wasn't sure of, and he trembled in fear within the combined embrace of Enid, Rad, and Red Action. Part of him still wanted to fight the mimic himself, but still, as he gazed over at the other Lakewood heroes continually battling against the mimic in its giant octopus body, poor T.K.O. didn't know how to respond to this in a clear manner.

"I...I...I wanna f-f-fight...I need to-"

"No, K.O., you don't." Red Action persisted carefully, cutting of T.K.O., "Take a deep breath and try and calm yourself down now…"

T.K.O. tried to ease himself with a big breath of air as instructed, but he found himself taking shaky, rapid breaths instead. Something inside of his heart festered and wavered, like an unknown feeling of sorts that made him feel weird inside. He almost felt like crying; was he feeling guilt or regret or something? Whatever it was, he felt as though his good side was finally managing to show through.

Ergo, K.O. was ready to overpower his mind, thus having T.K.O. return back to the dark plains of K.O.'s mind where he resides.

Poor T.K.O. tried to keep himself from being back sent into K.O.'s head again, but it was no use at all! He could feel himself ready to transform back into the kind, heroic little boy that Lakewood has come to know and love. He wanted desperately to fight, not to be turned back into K.O. again! As much as he wanted to stay free and far away from the prison-like mindset of K.O. for good, the gods of fate, however, had other ideas for him.

The simple, but impactful words that Enid, Rad, and Red Action all sweetly chorused out in unison was soon enough to help drive home T.K.O.'s transformation back into K.O. once more.

"K.O., you are loved and appreciated...forever and always…"

It was all too much for T.K.O.. His body shuddered violently within the teens' grasps. One by one, he felt his distinguishing features disappear during his transformation. His spiky collars and wristbands, his dark eye shadow, his fangs, and he could feel his hair go from unkempt, ratty, and dirty to more straightened, brushed, and clean in a matter of a couple of seconds. T.K.O. hyperventilated heavily during all of this, too frozen with distress and anger to fight back the teens, only being able to scream out his last words before he ascended back into his rightful home inside K.O.'s mindscape.

"NO! THIS AIN'T FAIR! I WANNA FIGHT THAT DUMB MIMIC! THAT FREAK NEEDS TO PAY! _I WANNA FIGHT!_ _**I WANNA FIGH-**_"

***SHOOOOOOOM!***

That was all that T.K.O. had left to say before he was engulfed in a bright, blinding light. Enid, Radicles, and Red Action, all still hugging the boy, clamped their eyes shut as the white light rendered them slightless for only a second. The light shone for what felt like endless minutes until then, until after at least five seconds, the light had stopped burning bright completely. A tense silence befell the four friends instantly.

The trio of teens each opened their eyes one-by-one, all of them looking down to take a clear look at the little boy they were all embracing.

The familiar boy with tall, dark brown hair, a red headband, a blue vest, pink legwarmers, and big, sad-looking eyes.

Enid, Radicles, and Red Action were hushed, all staring at the boy's normal form with awe, relief, and concern, as K.O., back in his true, nomadic body, was seen snuggled within his friends' warm and calming hug. However, poor K.O. seemed to be sporting a rather sad-hearted expression. His bottom lip quiver and he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

The teens clearly noticed the boy's unusual behavior and tried to see how he was holding up.

"...K-K.O.?" Enid stuttered out, worriedly.

"You okay, bro?" asked Radicles softly.

"Are you hurt?" whispered Red gently, just as troubled as Enid and Rad were.

K.O. didn't say a word; he simply just shivered within the three-person hug he was currently ensnared in. He drank in the sights of watching his other friends trying to duel against the mimic before he set his sights back up to his closest friends as they all quietly and warmly embraced him in their most comforting hug ever made.

A wave of shame splashed around K.O., filling him with more and more sadness. How could he have let his emotions over-weigh his common sense? He had straight up let T.K.O. roam free, unchained and unyielding, because of some stupid falsities that the mimic was spewing out to him! K.O. was meant to be a kind, brave, and civilized hero, not someone who lets their anger get the better of him.

All K.O. could do at the moment was stew in his regret before he began crying softly, feeling too ashamed to look back at his friends again. He really wished he tried harder to not listen to the mimic's mockery earlier today.

As K.O. began crying his heart out, he could feel Enid, Radicles, and Red Action hug him even tighter, as if to comfort him even more. In spite of his friends' combined efforts to console him, this only made K.O. want to cry harder and he curled up within the group hug, his eyes watering and his sobs uncontrollable and shaky.

Enid shushed softly and brushed at the little boy's hair to try and ease K.O.'s mind. "Shh-shh-shh-shh...it's okay, K.O.. Just let those tears out…"

"You got nothing to worry about, little bro…" murmured Rad, patting K.O.'s back comfortingly. K.O. sniffled and coughed, trying his best to get a word in edgewise in spite of his constantly-flowing tears.

"...*sniffle*...I-I-I…*sniffle*...I'm s-s-sorry...I d-didn't mean to c-cause so much tr-trouble…*sob*..." was all that K.O. was able to utter out before resorting back to sobbing fits again. Red Action ran her fingers through K.O.'s thick hair and gave him a sisterly, comforting kiss on the cheek.

"Shh, it's alright, dude. You didn't do anything. You didn't harm anyone and you didn't destroy anything. Just try and take it easy now. Gary's gonna take care of everything now...you won't have to deal with that lousy mimic ever again…"

Poor K.O. could only hope that that would be the case as he took in the calming words that Red Action had crooned to him. All he could really do was sit back, sob helplessly, and bathe in his friends' loving glow as the battle against the fearsome and dangerous mimic was soon reaching its end.

* * *

"Okay, let's see...a-ha! Here's the freezing spell! Phew...okay, Gary, old boy...you can do this…"

Gary had scanned carefully through his book of magical spells until he had finally found the freezing spell he was to use to stop the mimic in its tracks. Inhaling bravely, he quickly memorized the spell's magic words, closed the book shut, and marched over to where his foe was located, still battling the other Lakewood heroes tirelessly. He was ready to end this foolishness once and for all!

So far, the battle between the Lakewood heroes and the mimic was beginning to reach a tipping point. The group of heroes were all soon feeling rather winded and bruised during their endless brawl against their shapeshifting adversary, whom in question didn't seem like it was getting tired from fighting as of yet.

The heroes stood together on the ground, all panting and feeling sore and exhausted as the mimic laughed uproariously in its octopus form.

"HA-HA-HA! Fools! Your tactics shall not defeated me! Nothing and no one can stop mimics like me!" it shrilled mockingly. The mimic was soon ready to lift up a tentacle to slam down on the fatigued heroes when a male-sounding voice rang in its eardrums.

"MIMIC, STAND DOWN _NOW!_"

The Lakewood heroes all ceremoniously looked towards the source of that loud, stalwart voice, all gazing in shock as, standing before them, stood the vigilant Gary: Guardian of the Bodega Backroom! A streak of lightning and a crash of thunder ripped through the cloudless daytime sky upon Gary's entrance.

Even the mimic had ceased its rampage momentarily upon hearing Gary's brash, unyielding tone. Its eyes squinted as it looked around the plaza for the source of that valiant voice.

"That voice…" it muttered suspiciously to itself, "It sounds familiar…"

The mimic didn't need to look for too long as then, it spotted a green-skinned creature in a dark-colored cloak a few feet below it. The shapeshifter growled lowly, its eyes filled with fiery hatred. This figure was indeed someone that the mimic knew very well, indeed.

"Oh, yes...I remember _you_…" it seethed maliciously. The mimic's tentacles flailed about dangerously, as if it was ready to scoop Gary up and strangle him.

"Well-well-well, if it isn't good ol' goody-two-shoes Gary! What are _you_ doing here, wizard!?" sneered the mimic, "Life behind the stockroom too dull for you?" Gary, with his tome of spells clutched protectively in his arms, glared bravely at the mimic's large octopus form, not planning on backing down from the mimic's wrath.

"Listen here, fiend! You shall not continue to cause more mayhem to this plaza anymore!" boomed Gary, pointing a finger at the mimic, "You want to pick a fight with someone, then _I_ shall be your competitor!"

The mimic snickered at the thought of this. "Pssh, how droll...a lowly foe like _you_ going up against a behemoth like _moi!?_" it crooned boastfully, "Well, that's not a fair fight at all, isn't it? I can easily turn into something menacing like a shark or a T-Rex or a tax collector and instantly _destroy_ you in a millisecond!"

Gary smirked at this, as if he was blatantly challenging the mimic head-on. "Hmm, is that so? Then, perchance, you could try and fight me in a more casual form then, like...oh, I don't know...as a human, then?" Gary mused thoughtfully. The mimic snarled, feeling threatened by Gary's humble challenge.

"A human form? Surely, you jest, fool!" the mimic huffed. Gary smirked coyly.

"Well, it is only fair...I mean, you taking on the form of a giant octopus and fighting against little old me isn't exactly an even fight, mate." the wizard explained knowingly, "If you fight me in a more casual form, then we'd be on even ground."

The mimic snarled disdainfully. "Grr...fat chance, wizard. You'll just best me by using your pitiful magic anyways!" it countered snappishly. Gary nodded and pursed his lips in thought.

"Hmm, maybe. However, perhaps you would prove me wrong by showing me that, even in a regular humanoid form, you can try and win against me regardless. After all, you mimics always say that you lot can defeat _anyone_ in any form…so, why not prove that to me, then?"

The other heroes all "oohed" simultaneously at Gary's sly taunt, which in turn caused the mimic's face to glow red with frustration and agitation. Luckily, it wasn't long until the mimic had regained it composure to come up with a final choice for Gary's little wager.

"Grrr...so be it, little wizard! Even a creature as powerful as _me_ can best a magical kook like you, wizard!" the mimic snapped, venom laced in its voice.

With that said, the mimic pushed aside the Lakewood heroes with a single tentacle to ensure that they wouldn't interfere with its tussle with Gary, before immediately dropping its octopus guise in that for a plain and regular humanoid form. The mimic cracked its knuckles and smirked devilishly up at Gary.

"Heh-heh-heh. Prepare for a world of hurt, wizard." sneered the mimic, "No matter what form I possess, I will always be a force to be reckoned with!"

And then, with no warning at all, the mimic began jogging furiously towards Gary, reeling back its right fist as to land a daring, harsh punch right at Gary. At this point, the mimic was fully willing to prove to Gary that, with or without its transformation powers, it can still be a fearsome threat to all.

Gary, meanwhile, was quickly prepared for such a bold move. He closed his eyes, reached out his right hand, and took in a deep breath of air. With the mimic still a few feet away from him, quickly approaching him with a punch ready to strike, Gary began smoothly speaking in Latin, reciting his freezing spell without fault.

"_Turpi furcifer, tu et cogitare bis nocendi facerem heroes, fortis et eu. Expenads diebus vestris solvente pretium et in carcerem condidit adepto est glacies!_"

Light blue glimmers began flashing from Gary's hands, along with small sprinklings of snowflakes forming from his fingertips. The air began to feel chilly all around Gary, in spite of the warm summer atmosphere that currently hung above all of Lakewood and beyond. Everyone present in the crowd felt a nippy breeze wheesh right through them.

Then, after what nearly felt like an hour of tense suspension, Gary opened his eyes, which shone a bright, blinding shade of ice blue.

And then...

***WHOOOOOOOOOSH!***

...a icy blue-colored energy beam shot straight out from Gary's right hand, aimed directly at the unexpected mimic running towards him.

The beam quickly struck the mimic squarely in the chest, causing it to stop only a few feet away from Gary as the mimic sharp, stinging, freezing spikes of pain surge all around its chest, seizing it from moving any faster towards Gary. Amazingly, despite all this, the mimic was still trying to advance forward at Gary, albeit at a slower rate.

"Grrr...you foolish w-wizard!" the mimic screeched valiantly, shivering unexpectedly from the blast of coldness that strike its chest, "You s-seriously think i-ice is going to stop m-m-me!? I am p-practically a god to y-you mortals!"

Gary smirked knowingly, his spell still in full effect. "Even mere mortals can be capable of such amazing things as well, old sport…" And with that, he heightened the power level of his ice spell, causing even more freezing ice to shoot from his hand and right at the mimic.

The mimic nearly recoiled in shock from the surge of ice being pelted at it as it kept on trying its best to push forward to lunge at Gary. The blood-churning anger festering inside it froze up as much as its body was at the moment. Harsh, freezing winds ripped at its face, nearly blinding it from how pained, numb, and incapacitated it was right now. The mimic, now only a mere foot away in front of Gary, tried reaching out a hand to, at the very least, grab at Gary to get him to stop, but it was proving fruitless as the mimic felt itself moving slower and slower by the second.

Gary's spell was indeed getting the upper hand.

By now, the mimic's persistent scowl was instead replaced with pure fear and confusion. The shapeshifting creature honestly hadn't expected how _this_ was going to be its end. Brought to its knees by a bunch of scrappy heroes and their pesky wizard friend. Solid chunks of ice slowly began forming all around the mimic, slowly imprisoning the fiend in its new tomb.

As the mimic felt its body seize up thanks to the blistering cold from Gary's spell, all the shapeshifter could do was yell in anger as then, the mimic was quickly encased in a perfectly-cubic ice block, only inches away from Gary's confident, but tired grin.

"_NOOOOOOOO! I SHALL NOT BE STOPPED! I SHALL NO-_" ***CRACKLE-CRACKLE!***

The words hurtling out of the mimic's mouth halted as the mimic felt its vocal cords freeze up like the rest of its body.

As Gary finally ceased his spell, having stopped firing his freeze beam entirely as he let out a gasp of exhaustion, everyone around him were all hushed into silence at the scene before them. There, now standing in place without any chance of escaping, stood a frozen, horrified, and helpless mimic, now rendered immobile and incapable of harming anyone or terrorizing anywhere else at the plaza.

Silence completely fell amongst the group for what almost felt like a good full hour. Nobody said a single, solitary word to anyone, as the reality of their situation hit all of the heroes like a meteor strike. No sooner had they just been fighting off against this mimic to then have their malleable foe now completely frozen in place thanks to Gary's added assistance. Enid, Radicles, Red Action, and the saddened K.O. seemed to be the ones fully affected by this outcome, as evident by their widened eyes and shell-shocked expressions.

Enid was the one to finally breaking the deafening silence.

"We...won...we actually won…?"

As the heroes gazed in stunned and silent shock at the mimic, now trapped in its frozen state, before them, it only took a few seconds before the group could properly react to the scene before them.

"**HOORAY!**"

Loud cheers and laughter erupted from the crowd in an instant! Soon enough, the heroes were dancing, cheering, singing, and prancing up a storm, all relieved to finally close the book on the whole mimic madness once and for all! Hugs were shared, high-fives and fist bumps were conducted, and tears of joy were shed that day, as the end of a gruesome battle had finally reached its endgame, now leaving the victors to celebrate their hearts for this momentous occasion.

"HOORAY! WE DID IT!"

"WE STOPPED THE MIMIC!"

"WE SAVED THE PLAZA!"

It was indeed a grand old time for the heroes of Lakewood Plaza Turbo. Thanks to Gary, the mimic has been thwarted and the plaza was still (mostly) intact and free from any more wanton destruction. Justifiably, everyone had a good reason to celebrate this victorious feat right now!

Gary, Enid, Rad, and Red Action watched the others cheer and dance around with relief and amusement, the four of them glad to finally put this whole mess behind them for good. "Well, all's well that ends well, I guess…" Red Action sighed out with a soft grin.

Radicles chuckled. "Heh, you said it…" He then looked over to Gary, now slightly hunched over and letting out a few deep breaths. Rad smiled and slung a friendly arm over the wizard's shoulders.

"Awesome job, Gary!" congratulated Rad with proud sincerity, "You really pulled through for us…"

Gary smiled amiably and humbly, his face and body wrought with exhaustion, but satisfaction. "Ah...all in a day's work, Rad…" he sighed out, returning Rad's support by giving him a handshake, "I'm just amazed that git actually fell for my plan…"

Rad seemed puzzled. "How so, Gary?"

Gary chuckled. "Well, mimics are competitive and boisterous lil' buggers, Rad. I simply thought that if I'd try to get that mimic to adopt a more simpler form, it would be easier for me to cast my spell on it, but I'm surprised the mimic followed through with my taunt...crazy guy that mimic is…"

The four heroes then chuckled happily to themselves upon hearing Gary's explanation, before Enid looked down at the silent, teary-eyed boy still safely clutched in her strong arms. "It's okay now, K.O.. It's all done now...we won the fight…" she cooed, rubbing his arm to help ease his frayed nerves.

K.O., still sniffling and feeling quite upset, did try to manage a shaky thumbs-up and small grin in return, but his smile seemed more forced and stilted than anything. Regardless, in spite of how too sad and tired he was to even speak up, he was indeed glad that this ordeal was put behind them now.

But unfortunately, as everyone continued to cheer and dance around in victory, the fun times were just about to crash in just a few seconds as they were all met by a loud, jarring, and unexpected voice.

"_**WHAT IN THE BLUE BLAZES JUST HAPPENED TO THE PLAZA!?**_"

The cheering and merriment came to an immediate crashing halt as they all quieted down and looked over to the source of the noise, which came from a very confused, very horrified, and very _pissed_ Mr. Gar, having just conveniently returned from his hero expo in Battleburg.

Gar's face was a brilliant shade of crimson. His temples throbbed and his scowl was deep. He shuddered and shook with anger, demanding to know what on Earth just happened. He clenched his reddened fists and snorted out air through his nostrils like an angry bull. He gazed at the silent crowd with fury until he spotted a certain trio of heroes from within the group.

"_RAD! ENID! K.O.! FRONT AND CENTER NOW!_" he demanded with a ground-shaking roar.

The three bodega workers wasted no time as they whooshed through the crowd and stood at attention in front of Mr. Gar, their faces wrought with horror and fear as they gave their boss a shaky salute.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Gar, sir!" they all yelped out. Gar tapped his foot and crossed his arms as he glared daggers down at his employees.

"Would you care to explain what the ding-dang-dong happened to Lakewood Plaza!?" he growled, literal steam hissing from his nostrils and ears, "Everything's a complete mess! I oughta...I...wait a minute...Gary? I-Is that you?"

Gar's shouts and anger had suddenly evaporated completely and was replaced with confusion as he looked at the crowd and spotted a certain hood-wearing goblin man amongst the group of heroes close by. Gary smiled casually and gave Mr. Gar a friendly hand wave.

"'Ello, Eugene. What's shakin'?" he greeted calmly. Mr. Gar blinked twice before looking down at his employees with bafflement.

"Uhh...any reason why Gary is here with you three?" he asked curiously. The trio of bodega workers gulped and shivered, still scared of facing Gar's inevitable wrath.

"W-W-We kinda came across a mimic that escaped from the bodega back room, sir…" explained Enid in a jittery voice. Mr. Gar's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"A mimic?' he echoed. The three nodded in response.

"Enid and I had to fetch Gary to help stop that thing from completely destroying the plaza!" added Rad, "He was the only one who could've properly stopped that mimic." Mr. Gar gave his employees an inquisitive look.

"I see…" he mumbled, "And what did the rest of you lot do then?" he asked, looking towards the small group of heroes standing around behind the bodega trio. Red Action coughed awkwardly and boldly stepped up to help save her three friends' hides.

"We were helping to try and fight the mimic ourselves. We had to do _something_ before it could turn the plaza into nothing but a landfill...we're sorry, Mr. Gar…" the Hue Trooper sighed sadly.

Mr. Gar's seething anger seemed to have vaporized completely at this point, with only curiosity and confusion plaguing his mind. He looked back towards Gary with a stern look on his facial features. "Where is this mimic now?" he asked sharply.

Gary nodded and then turned towards Radicles. "Rad, could you show 'em, please?" he politely asked.

Rad nodded back and then, using his telekinesis again, he levitated a large, frozen block of ice from behind the crowd and carried it towards Mr. Gar for him to see. Gar squinted his eyes at the hunk of ice before him until he quickly caught sight at the barely-visible, mauve-colored creature entombed in its frozen "prison".

"Sweet Mother of Cob, there _is_ a mimic in here!" he rumbled in realization. Enid and Radicles nodded gravely.

"It nearly decimated our plaza!" cried Enid, "It made a mess of the bodega!"

"It terrorized our customers in the coffee shop!" squeaked Drupe.

"It toppled and blew up Beardo's truck!" boomed Nick Army, pointing at the charred truck remnants and the unconscious goblin chef a few feet away from them.

"And it completely tore up the iFrame store!" finished Brandon, "Plus, our powers couldn't stop that thing at all! Look at what happened to my bro!" he added, gesturing to the disjointed Real Magic Skeleton from within his bucket. Mr. Gar cringed in surprise.

"Yeesh, what happened to you, kid?" he asked. RMS looked down in shame.

"I tried to use my own magic to stop the mimic, but it proved to be worthless. Plus, that mimic damaged the gem in my chest in the process, so I can't get myself together again…my magic's kaput, now..." he glumly explained, his tone sounding so low and pitiful. Everyone frowned in sympathy at the humiliated skeleton, before Gary gave him a kind smile.

"Ah, no worries, mate...I got this!" he replied, giving RMS a wink. Just then, Gary raised his right hand and closed his eyes. His hand glew a shiny yellow color, which then caused the bucket that Real Magic Skeleton was residing in to rattle and shake in Brandon's hands. Real Magic Skeleton gasped and yelped out as he too began shaking about uncontrollably from Gary's spell.

Everyone else was surprised and worried to see what was happening before them, but Gary just smiled confidently as his continued working his magic on the skeleton.

As RMS felt his skull and other disconnected body parts clatter inside the bucket, he then felt a strange feeling forming in his ribcage. The cracks in his purple gem slowly began to disappear completely! As Gary had worked his magic, Real Magic Skeleton was then able to use his own magic once again to finally piece himself together again. His body parts flew out from the bucket and swirled around in the air before, at last, Real Magic Skeleton found himself restored back into his normal skeletal form again, his parts connected firmly and his gem fully free from cracks, as if it was brand new!

RMS gasped loudly and took a good look at himself, waving his arms and bending his knees to see if his parts were still working, which they clearly were. He then felt a big, toothy, relieved smile spread across his face as the realization of this outcome struck him there on the spot.

"I'm back to normal...I'm back to normal!" he cried out. Everyone then cheered and clapped upon seeing Real Magic Skeleton turned back to normal once again. Brandon, being the one who was understandably the most overjoyed to see his friend back in working order, sprang up and gave RMS a tight, excited bro hug, in which the skeleton returned back with no hesitation.

As the merriment died down, Real Magic Skeleton looked back at Gary with amazement. "Oh, thanks so much, Gary!" he smiled with sincerity, "How can I ever thank you?"

Gary chuckled warmly. "No need, mate…" he denied kindly, "Just be lucky that mimic didn't manage to actually kill someone here...that wouldn't be a pretty sight…"

Red Action scoffed lightly. "You ain't kidding...that freak actually tormented K.O. enough to turn into his angry little form!"

Mr. Gar's eyes widened in shock at that revelation. He looked back down at the shame-ridden boy in question with sad and worried eyes. "Is this true, K.O.?" he asked seriously.

K.O., barely having the heart to speak, simply nodded feebly. "I...I-I...I'm s-so sorry, M-Mr. Gar…" he blubbered, "I d-didn't mean to turn i-into T.K.O. like th-that! Honest!" Enid and Rad both knelt down and each wrapped a comforting arm around K.O.'s torso, in hopes to calm him down.

"We managed to ease T.K.O. into turning back in K.O. right after we got Gary…" Enid explained to her boss, "According to Red Action, he was actually trying to attack the _mimic_ itself, as opposed to the plaza or the other heroes…"

Mr. Gar raised a curious, astonished eyebrow. "Is that so?" he muttered in intrigue. Red Action nodded, deciding to stick up for the young hero as well.

"Please, sir...don't be upset at K.O. for this. It was that lousy mimic's fault. It kept insulting and mocking K.O. to turn him into T.K.O. in the first place...I was only trying to keep the kid from causing anymore damage before Enid and Rad arrived with Gary…" she pled sadly. She almost expected Mr. Gar to be disappointed in her, but instead, he gave her a soft smile.

"I understand, young lady…" he grunted, "Rest assured, I'm not upset at K.O. and I'm glad you were able to prevent T.K.O. from doing any more possible harm to anyone and to the plaza. That was a brave thing you did, Red Action."

The Hue Trooper blushed as bright red as her armor and gave Mr. Gar a humbled smile in return. She then looked down at Enid, whom in turn gave Red a proud, blushing grin as well. But as Red Action casted her sights back down at K.O., her smile immediately turned into a concerned frown upon seeing the tearful and ashamed face he was sporting now.

Worried for his sake, Red knelt down beside K.O. and gave him a sad, concerned look. "Hey, kiddo? You okay?" she cooed as softly as she can be.

K.O.'s face went red from embarrassment and sadness. The idea of him turning into T.K.O. so hastily and blindly like that was still fresh in his mind. "I-I'm so sorry, Mr. Gar...I'm sorry I-I caused so much trouble and madness like this...I-I should've kept my emotions in check, s-so that T.K.O. wouldn't have sh-shown up…I-I tried to get him to stop, too, but h-he wouldn't listen..."

Then, in a quiet, hurt, defeated, and ashamed voice, K.O. lowered his head down and let his tears drip onto the ground. "I'm sorry I wasn't acting like a true hero, sir…"

Everyone in the crowd couldn't help but gaze sadly and sympathetically down at K.O.. Even if T.K.O. had managed to show up to this already-tense and bombastic situation, the Lakewood heroes were lucky that no one else was hurt when T.K.O. engaged in a minor brawl solely against the mimic. Plus, the plaza was still standing...mostly. But still, to see their little cheerful and optimistic friend seem so guilty and sad broke all of their hearts, especially Rad's and Enid's.

K.O. was half-expecting Mr. Gar to be disappointed in him, but he was somewhat startled to see Gar kneel down in front of himself and carefully lift up his chin with a finger. K.O. looked in Mr. Gar's fatherly, warm eyes from behind his sunglasses with subdued, softened surprise.

"K.O.," Mr. Gar began with a soft smile, "You've got nothing to worry about, son. I know you wouldn't willingly cause any harm to anyone of us. Right now, I'm just happy you're alive and safe."

K.O. felt himself actually smile a bit from hearing his boss' reassuring words, tears still trickling down his soft face. However, K.O. looked down and felt his smile waver back to a small frown again. "B-But, what about the plaza? Most of the stores and places here are all a mess now…"

Mr. Gar turned his head to scan the plaza. Admittedly, K.O. does strike a good point there. The states of the plaza's stores were all disheveled to say the least, with broken windows, busted doors, dirt and garbage covering the store's interiors, and dust clouds hanging around in the air from all the commotion. He could even see plumes of smoke rising from behind the plaza, where the abandoned and vacant field was situated at.

The damage was mostly minor and fixable, but even Mr. Gar had to wince at the destruction that one mimic had caused to his plaza. Still, he looked back at K.O. with assurance.

"We can still be able to repair and clean up the plaza again, K.O., don't you worry. Technically, we've been through worse situations than this, y'know." proclaimed Mr. Gar with a kindly grin, "What matters is that everyone is safe and that Red and the others have managed to get you back to normal again."

Rad and Enid both looked at Mr. Gar with confusion. "Sooo, we're not in trouble then?" queried Enid slowly. Mr. Gar sighed humbly.

"Nah, I know a situation like this must be serious if you guys needed Gary's assistance...right now, I'm glad you guys are safe from harm. Ahem, and well, you guys _did_ do your best to keep the mimic under reigns until then, so...good job, everyone!" said Mr. Gar, giving the crowd of heroes a proud thumbs-up and a hearty grin.

Enid, Rad, Gary, Red Action, and the other heroes smiled fondly at each other for being able to work together through such a tiresome fight, all thankful to still be alive even after battling against an angry mimic throughout the afternoon. Enid and Rad then looked back down at the saddened boy that they were hugging, whom in turn sniffled and wiped some tears away from his eyes.

"So, what that mimic said to me earlier was all wrong then?" he asked carefully, "I really a-am _not_ a pathetic failure after all?"

Rad, Enid, and Mr. Gar were shocked to hear such an insult having been directed at K.O., but before they could speak up, Red Action immediately joined in to give K.O. a hug as well, looking down at the boy with the most warmest expression that she rarely shows to anyone (aside from Enid, of course).

"Absolutely not, little guy…" she cooed softly, "What that mimic was tellin' you was all garbage. You are far from a failure...you are a great hero, in spite of your age and size."

K.O. sniffled again, his pupils big with sadness, but his heart filled with hope. "Y-You really think that, Red?" he asked quietly. Red nodded with any second thoughts.

"Every word of it, kiddo...we all think you have the makings of being one of Lakewood's greatest heroes…" she declared. The other heroes in the crowd murmured with agreement, as well as the rest of K.O.'s closest allies who wholeheartedly think the same way as Red Action was.

"Not to mention that you're a great teammate to us as well." added Enid sweetly.

"And an awesome little bro." put in Radicles happily.

"And a hard-working employee, too…" finished Mr. Gar with utmost pride.

Another wave of tears was soon welling up in K.O.'s eyes again, waiting to flow freely down his cheeks without a care, but only this time, these were tears of joy instead of tears of bitterness and regret. And then, without any faults, K.O. felt a big smile form across his face, much to his friends' relief.

Just then, Rad, Enid, Red Action, and even Mr. Gar piled together to ensnare K.O. in a big, loving hug, as if to confirm that what they said to himself was indeed true. K.O. sighed softly with deep content, basking appreciatively in his friends' love like there was no tomorrow.

"...Th-Thanks, guys...for everything...I should've known that mimic was just a big bully…" whispered K.O. in a soft, sad, but grateful and warm tone. His close friends all smiled in return.

"No problem, little bro…" assured Enid, "It's like we said to you...you _are_ loved and appreciated. Just remember that."

At that point, K.O. was too overcome with joy to even express his happiness into words, as he instead just continued to snuggle deeply into his best friends' embrace. However, the hug wasn't to end just yet.

Scooching between Radicles and Red Action, Gary quietly and surprisingly joined in on the hug as well, in hopes to assure K.O. in his own way as well. Then, Enid felt two small figures squeeze beside her as Colewort and Potato have also united in on the group hug as well.

And just like that, one-by-one, the other heroes soon piled in to give K.O. the biggest and most warmest group hug they have ever participated in. First came in Drupe as she snuggled up next to Radicles, next came Real Magic Skeleton and Brandon, followed by Ms. Mummy, along with Punching Judy, then Nick Army, then Joff, then Mr. Logic, then Chameleon Jr., and last but not least, Gregg as they all silently, but happily added themselves to the growing group embrace without any hesitation.

K.O. was quite shocked to be involved in, what can possibly be, one of the largest group hugs he has ever been a part of, but in the end, he didn't really care, he was happy that he and all his friends were all safe from harm against the mimic, and that he had successfully managed to send T.K.O. back into his mind afterwards. Sure, the plaza may be in need of repairs and there was still the problem of how to properly deal with the frozen mimic, but even so, K.O. was proud to have many loyal, kind-hearted, and loving friends by his side to help him out throughout any kind of situation, regardless of how dangerous they could be.

No doubt about it, whatever may happen, K.O. was wholeheartedly proud that there were certainly no friends like those in Lakewood Plaza Turbo.

* * *

Meanwhile, as everyone were caught inside of their joyful embrace, Beardo, still slumped over, finally managed to shake himself awake. His head was pounding and his vision was blurry. He groaned groggily as he began looking around, trying to sharpen his sights back to normal.

"Ugh, my achin' head...what happened...where is mimic?" he grumbled.

The sounds of joyous laughter suddenly rang in his ears as he craned his neck towards the source of the noise, where he could then make out a crowd of familiar-looking heroes piled in a group hug, laughing their hearts out all the while with a large ice block close by them.

An ice block that appeared to house a certain shape shifting creature inside.

In spite of how dizzy and hungover he felt, Beardo felt a small smile tug at his lips. "Heh...the lads actually stopped mimic after all…" he mused proudly.

He was almost ready to try and force himself back up on his feet to rejoin his friends, he turned his head back facing towards the burnt hunk of scrap metal that was his food truck. Suddenly, Beardo felt his mind turn into mush upon seeing his precious vehicle reduced to nothing but ash and charred metal pieces.

"M-M-My truck...My truuuuu-oh, Cob…" he groaned out woozily.

That was all Beardo had managed to utter out, before he then found himself losing consciousness once again, falling on his backside as he blacked out from exhaustion.

* * *

Soon, everyone slowly broke away from the group hug one-by-one, all now looking towards the frozen mimic before them all. "So, what are we gonna do with this thing now?" Nick Army asked gruffly.

"Agreed." added Mr. Logic, "Chances are that the ice would melt at high summer temperatures like this." Gary smiled reassuringly.

"Not likely, mates. The ice spell I made is made of _magic!_ It'll take a long while before this mimic can thaw out." he explained with a smile. Everyone seemed relieved at this prospect, although they still had the issue of properly disposing of the mimic at the same time.

"Well, we have to do something about this mimic!" squeaked Potato, "We can't have it roam around the plaza again, causing trouble!"

Punching Judy cracked her glove-covered knuckles and scowled protectively. "I can pound this guy so that it won't terrorize another plaza ever again?" she suggested with a huff. However, Mr. Gar gently stopped her from doing as such.

"No need, Judy." he ushered carefully, "Right now, it's top priority that Lakewood Plaza is cleaned up and fixed back up again…"

The other heroes, aside from K.O., Rad, Enid, and Red Action, looked baffled as they gazed up at Mr. Gar. "Uh, all due respect, but are you serious, sir?" Chameleon Jr. asked in confusion.

"Yeah, besides, this mimic was causing loads of trouble here! There should be a way we should get involved in finding out why it was tearing up our plaza!" agreed Drupe, crossing her arms.

"Squawk-squawk!" added Gregg. Mr. Gar calmly shook his head and sighed.

"I understand, everyone, but please keep in mind that this plaza needs your help as well. You lot should tend to your respective workplaces to ensure that anyone and anything is safe and sound for the time being. We're going to need a _lot_ of help to make sure Lakewood Plaza Turbo is back in working order again."

The heroes listened carefully to Gar's words and, without objections, they took his considerations and all agreed to follow through with them. However, a slight piece of concern arose from the small crowd of heroes.

"Wait, then what's going to happen with the mimic?" Colewort asked worriedly. Mr. Gar smiled in assurance.

"Me, Gary, and my employees shall take care of the mimic for the time being." he boomed, "We'll find out what its intentions were."

Slowly, but surely, that was enough to help pour more relief into the other heroes' hearts once more. And then, one-by-one, they began talking amongst themselves to see how they can fix up the plaza.

"Colewort and I can help Drupe clean up the inside of the coffee shop." Potato offered kindly. Colewort nodded with a small smile.

"I'll see if Beardo's holding up okay." added Nick Army, already sprinting off to help the passed-out chef from afar.

"Me and Brandon will check the iFrame Outlet. I wanna see if Sir iFrame is okay…" Real Magic Skeleton suggested in a worried tone.

"Chameleon Jr, Judy, and I can tidy up around the plaza for any mess left behind!" chirped Ms. Mummy, her tone filled with hope.

"And Gregg and I shall help Mr. Logic clean up in his barbershop." finished Joff sagely, to which Gregg responded with a happy squawk. Mr. Gar gazed proudly at the heroes and nodded once.

"Excellent work, heroes!" he congratulated with humbled vigor, "You are all doing Cob's work! Stay safe, everyone!"

The heroes thanked Mr. Gar and then, with all of that said and done, they each scampered away to tend to their respective duties without hesitation or complaint. Soon, that just left Mr, Gar, K.O., Radicles, Enid, Red Action, and Gary by themselves at the moment, along with a frozen, petrified mimic as well.

Rad sighed heavily. "Soooo, uh, now that that's out of the way, _we're_ basically gonna try and get some answers from this thing now?" he asked skeptically. Mr. Gar nodded and huffed to himself.

"That's the idea." he deduced simply, "We need answers, so we're going to _get_ answers…"

Enid winced and frowned fretfully. "No offense, Mr. G, but I doubt this mimic's gonna comply with us. It has been causing havoc all day now, and it hasn't seemed to give in to our questioning beforehand…"

Gar scoffed. "Well, that's going to change. As you lot know, I ain't one for nonsense, and this mimic is no different. Besides, I got ways of making him talk…" he rumbled mysteriously. The others, however, still had their doubts.

"H-How so, sir?" K.O. piped up curiously, wiping away the last remnants of his tears.

Mr. Gar furrowed his brow, leering at the mimic's frozen state with disdain and determination. If they were planning on receiving answers from this mimic, then by golly, that's what they were going to do...whether they were going to us force or not.

"Just wait and see...now, bring the mimic to the stockroom, guys. I think we all deserve to know what this mimic's motives actually were…"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

**Another chapter finished up! With the mimic defeated and K.O. back to his regular old self again, things should be getting back to normal again, eh?**

**Well, that may not be the case now, considering that we'll be seeing why the mimic was causing such a ruckus to begin with, with Mr. Gar, K.O., Enid, Radicles, Red Action, and Gary acting as interrogators for the next chapter. Originally, I was going to have that part be part of this chapter as well, but since that would take something of a while to do (due to how busy I was at that moment), I figured to save the interrogation chapter for October instead. Then, after that chapter, comes an epilogue to wrap things up and then we can put an end to this story as a whole!**

**I also feel compelled to apologize again for the lateness for this chapter, as well as the fact that some sections of this chapter having rushed parts in it, notably IMO, where T.K.O. is quickly reformed back to K.O. again. I got into another time crunch because of my job and things kinda went crazy for me for a while. :P**

**Anyways, with that said, the last full-length chapter should be up at some point before 2019 ends, along with a follow-up epilogue, too. What kind of malicious intention was the mimic harboring as it was trying to destroy the plaza? What kind of beef does it have with K.O.? Find out when Chapter Seven: Strife at the Stockroom comes up next month! :D**

**Keep an eye out for a short OK K.O. Halloween fic at the tail end of the month as well and thanks for reading! ;)**

**(Also, here's a rough translation from Google Translate for Gary's spell, to those who are curious: "Foul villain, you shall think twice for harming heroes, brave and nice. Spend your days paying the price, and get entombed in a prison of ice!")**

**~Thunderbyrd**


	7. Chapter 7: Strife at the Stockroom P1

**THE ENDING HAS ARRIVED, EVERYONE!**

**After taking a few months off away from this story to try and work on a couple of other stories, "Doppelgangers Among Us" is back in action just in time for the story's end. So, now, the mimic has been successfully captured by K.O., Rad, Enid, and the gang, frozen in place thanks to the efforts of Gary, the bodega stockroom wizard!**

**However, what exactly were the motives that the mimic had for terrorizing the plaza, as well as attacking our beloved characters? Well, those will be answered in this penultimate chapter, so here's hoping you enjoy the rest of the story! :D**

**OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun).**

* * *

**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**CHAPTER SEVEN: STRIFE AT THE STOCKROOM (PART ONE)**

Darkness and silence.

Those were the two things that the mimic was experiencing right about now, as it was still currently entombed in its frozen prison-like state. It didn't have the ability to try and free itself, as the freezing temperature and thick shield of ice prevented the mimic from moving in any way. The mimic couldn't even twitch its fingers, let only move its arm back and forth.

The mimic, in spite of being immobile, was still able to mull over its thoughts for the time being, as disgust filled its black heart from recollecting all that has happened in the past few hours today.

How could it have ended like this? Mimics are supposed to be fearsome, tricky, and near-invincible creatures that can easily win any fights or tussles that they get into, and now, thanks to the efforts of some punk kids and an armada of plaza shoppers and workers, this mimic has wound up defeated and put on ice...literally.

The mimic let out a quiet growl from inside its icy tomb; was it really the end of its life? Has it been vanquished once and for all? And at the hands of a bunch of humans, aliens, and other odd creatures? Such a dishonorable display indeed, so thought the mimic.

And now, having been defeated in inglorious combat, the mimic would soon have to get used to staying its new prison, spending its years immobile, cold, and humiliated beyond redemption for its treacherous crimes against humanity.

...or so it thought.

Just as the mimic thought that it was to soon meet its maker, a sensation of heat began blowing at its face. The heat grew stronger and hotter, lasting for what felt like a full minute. Amazingly, the heat was enough to slowly melt down the ice surrounding the mimic's face, thus helping the mimic to fully regain its senses once again.

As the mimic slowly tried to make sure its eyesight was still operable, the shapeshifting fiend was able to make out a few figures in front of it. Six humanoid-esque bodies of varying sizes and shapes, all standing before the mimic like a strong wall. One of these figures, a goblin-like creature wearing a bulky cloak, seemed to be firing a continuous, steady flame out of his outstretched right hand, causing the ice around the mimic's face to melt away without severely burning at its face, granting the mimic to be able to speak and see once again.

Soon enough, the wizard had ceased his fire spell to temporarily free the mimic's face. The mimic responded by coughing and spitting up any melted water that had trickled in its mouth. The mimic then blinked rapidly, in hopes to heighten its eyesight back to how it was before. But, when it was finally able to perfect its sense of sight again, the mimic then let out of agonizing groan of revulsion upon seeing who it was sharing a room with right now.

'_These are the hapless fools I was fighting against all day…what in Cob's name do they want with me now?_' it grumbled internally, a frown of disdain spread across its cold and shivering face.

Sure enough, standing before the mimic in its mostly-frozen condition were the very same heroes it had challenged up against throughout the whole day: the blue-skinned alien with massive muscles, the thick-hipped teen girl with a purple ponytail bun, the snappish firecracker of a girl with red armor and an arm blaster, the young boy with tall brown hair, and the dastardly stockroom wizard that the mimic has longed to label him as its "arch-nemesis".

All these heroes, all joined by a hulking, shirtless, sunglasses-wearing, mustachioed man that towered over all of them. And from what the mimic was seeing, it would appear that it along with the small group of Lakewood Plaza heroes were holed up inside one part of the bodega's stockroom, in a room filled with shelves and crates that was just outside of the bodega's main store area.

All of the heroes' eyes were directed solely towards the mimic, each glare stern, suspicious, and sharp. The mimic took no notice of their spite and simply groan in aggravation.

"What you all want from me this time?" it sneered lowly, its voice teeming with pure disgust, "You chumps already defeated me. Are you here to gloat about your victory as well?" The muscle-toned owner of the plaza's bodega leered at the mimic with distaste and silent fury.

"You know darn well what we want from you, mimic!" he rumbled sternly. The purple-haired teen next to him nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you jerk! We wanna know why you're terrorizing the plaza like this!" snapped Enid, her arms crossed. Her blue, buff-bodied comrade jabbed a finger straight at the mimic.

"And you better tell us the truth before we'll have to beat the answer out of you, too!" retorted Radicles. In spite of these threats and accusations, the mimic could only scoff and avert its gaze away from the angered Lakewood Plaza Turbians, ready to face the end with dignity.

"You brightly-colored morons already won…" it growled vehemently, "Just snuff my heart out and be done with it!" Mr. Gar furrowed his brow deeply.

"Look, you little creep. Just tell us why you caused all this mayhem to begin with!" he ordered sternly. Unfortunately, the mimic wasn't willing to comply as it glared furiously down at the group of heroes before it.

"Hmph, I don't have to tell _you_ anything…" it shot back with a harrumph, "As if I'd waste my time dealing with a lunk like _you_…"

Mr. Gar growled to himself, his fists balling up in rising anger. But, before he can say anything back, a certain futuristic, red-themed hero stomped forward in front of the mimic and aimed her arm cannon straight at the frozen shapeshifter without hesitation.

Her heated glare was enough to match the mimic's own.

"Alright, you freak…" Red Action snarled, her face burning blood red with impatience and agitation, "If you don't tell us what your exact plans were, I'll blast you into deep space!" The mimic, remembering the tussle it had with Red Action earlier today, managed to smirk widely at the Hue Trooper's prowess.

"Hmph, still feeling a wee bit upset that I defeated you in battle behind the bodega, huh? It's almost laughable that you're so weak and easily-provoked..." the mimic tittered innocently. Red scoffed and bared her teeth, her right eye twitching like mad.

"Oh, we'll see who's laughing when I splatter you _all over the walls!_" she sneered, getting increasingly angrier as she began charging up her arm cannon, ready to blast the mimic with no remorse. Once again, the mimic still didn't seem unfazed by all this, especially when Death seemed to be looking right at it right in the face.

"Hmph, is that supposed to be a threat, _sweetcheeks?_" crooned the mimic tauntingly, its smirk growing even bigger and nastier, "You're really going to be bold enough to shoot me while I'm incapacitated?"

Red Action scoffed and huffed by the mimic's determination, but luckily, one of her friends was able to back her up as Red noticed the blue alien stockboy idle up next to her, cracking his knuckles all the while.

"I don't see why she wouldn't wanna do that…" retorted Radicles, "Considering the mess you've caused to our plaza, you're lucky we're letting you live longer than we want you to…" The mimic scoffed derisively.

"Tough talk from someone who's probably just a big softie underneath all that muscle and ego." it sneered, before flashing Rad a subtle, smug smirk, "I bet you even _adore_ cat videos as well, right, Big Blue?" Radicles' face burned red with irritation and embarrassment. His shaky fists clenched up in retaliation.

"Now, listen here, you little-"

"Rad, that's...that's enough. We don't need to stoop to its level." Enid was quick to try and get between her friend and the mimic, just as Rad was ready to attack the mimic to no possible end. Radicles slowly lowered his raised fist and huffed to himself, doing his best to relax himself after being subjected to the mimic's harsh (but accurate) taunts.

Enid then directed her attention back at the mimic, her eyes narrowing in seriousness. "Alright, mimic, simply tell us what the heck is going on and we may _consider_ letting you go."

But once again, the mimic was uncooperative as usual. "Why should I? You lot have been ruining my fun all day. Surely if _anyone_ was the true villain throughout this whole ordeal, it'd be you morons." The mimic's biting, smug-sounding remark was enough to boil Rad's blood even hotter.

"_You were attacking us first, you twerp!_" Rad correcting in rising anger, his normally-blue face glowing redder by the second. Once again, Enid tried to rally her close ally into calming himself down as best as she could, though even she could tell that tensions were clearly starting to rise between the mimic and her other friends.

The goblin wizard, the one who helped aid Enid and Rad's quest to stop the mimic's tyranny in the end, soon stepped forward to put his two cents into the matter, as well as to try and clear the air a bit.

"Ahem, now, see here, uh, mimic…" Gary began with an awkward cough, "Now, I know we ain't exactly close friends ourselves, but I'm sure with a wee bit of cooperation, things now will soon be copacetic. You get what I'm sayin', mate?"

The mimic's snide-filled scowl glowered even deeper, to the point where the mimic felt its face hurt greatly. "How's about you get what _I'm_ saying, _mate?_" shot back the mimic, "If you think you and your merry band of plaza-protecting meddlers can be able to get any explanations out of me, then you are all as dumb as you are weak! My mind is like a safe: unbreakable! You can try as you might, but I'm not saying anything. End. Of. Story."

The other heroes gazed at the stubborn mimic with wide eyes before they glanced back at each other with mild worry. "I don't think the bugger's gonna open up anytime soon, mates…" Gary whispered to the others, to which they silently and reluctantly agreed.

"Seems like it…" grumbled Enid, nodding solemnly. Her Hue Trooper friend / crush, meanwhile, was growing increasingly fed up by all this.

"Well, if that freak doesn't wanna speak, I can just _blast_ an explanation right out of it!" sneered Red Action, holding up her signature arm cannon in a threatening manner. Enid noticed her friend's response and quickly tried to get Red to relinquish her blaster in order to settle down.

"Red, calm down, _please!_" repeated Enid wearily, "This isn't gonna solve anything!"

The mimic felt its smile grow wider by each second, its devious devious as it watched the chaos unfold before it with satisfaction. Enid was trying her best not to let Red Action's anger get the better of her. Meanwhile, Mr. Gar, Rad, and Gary were divulging into a three-way argument of their own on how to get the mimic properly reveal its intentions without hasty violence.

"Maybe we could bring this mimic to a therapist?" suggested Gary, "They know how to open people up." Mr. Gar shook his head.

"Too expensive. I say we simply try to prod this mimic for a bit more and we'll see if it'll crack." added Gar with a huff. Radicles groaned and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"Aw, that'll take forever!" he whined, "There has to be a quicker way. Couldn't we, I dunno, tickle the information out of it?" he spitballed, before turning towards Gary in confusion, "Are mimics even ticklish?"

Gary, dumbfounded and clearly tired from today's events, simply shrugged. "I dunno, mate!" he exclaimed, "I never tried to do so! Why would I wanna tickle a mimic to begin with!? That's just _weird!_"

It was total chaos inside Gar's Bodega that moment; no one was fully sure on how to deal with this mimic and how to make it reveal its reasons why it wanted to destroy the plaza, and as of right now, the mimic was simply taking in pure delight that everyone was too busy arguing and fussing around to come up with a cohesive idea of sorts.

However, in-between all of this, one certain hero, who was strangely quiet throughout this whole interrogation scene, finally decided to make his voice finally heard above the shouts as the fray kept continuing on before the mimic's own eyes.

"...Excuse me?"

The arguments and commotion all came to a screeching halt as then, with everybody quieting down and directing their fullest attention to the youngster behind them, K.O. bravely stepped forward, looking up at the mimic as fearlessly as he could be. He was still frightened to be close to the mimic, admittedly, but he wanted answers just as much as everyone else did, so he knew he must take a stand and be courageous in the face of danger.

Every upcoming superhero must learn to be brave in times like this, even when they were still feeling scared deep down inside.

K.O. then stopped right in front of the mimic's frozen body, with his eyes still looking up into the mimic's own. The young hero's friends all subsided into a confused, yet worried silence. Red Action instinctively put down her arm cannon and the others each ceased their arguing long enough to let K.O. take center stage before their foe.

The mimic gazed down at the boy, looking at his somewhat-blank expression with mild disinterest. "Feh, what do _you_ want, boy?" groused the mimic dully, "Going to rub your victory into my face or something?"

K.O. frowned softly, his face wrought with faint, but obvious sadness. "Mr. Mimic? Please...why did you try to attack the plaza? Why were you trying to hurt my friends?" K.O. asked feebly, still trying to sound brave. The mimic scoffed.

"Pssh, like I'd tell you…" it sneered. The others frowned in dismay; somehow they knew the mimic wouldn't open up as easily now. K.O., however, was still determined.

"Was it...something that we did?" he asked, fidgeting with hands in a nervous fashion, "Did we make you mad about something?"

The mimic's hard glare began to soften a tad from that question, though annoyance and persistence was clear and present within the mimic's overall mood.

"You could say that…" it mumbled darkly. K.O. kept his stance straight and proud, now feeling like he was making progress now.

"Could you...perchance tell us why then?" offered K.O. hopefully. Sadly, the mimic wasn't swayed by the boy's calmness.

"Why should I? You and your weak friends have been ruining my fun all day!" snapped the mimic coldly. Red Action growled softly, glaring daggers back at the mimic.

"Your stupid 'fun' nearly turned our plaza into a junkyard!" she shot back nastily, to which the mimic responded with a snort.

"That's what I was hoping to do, until you bozos came along…" the mimic huffed bitterly. Red Action sizzled with anger, with Enid still trying to ease her down. "And as far as I'm concerned, you all don't deserve an explanation as to why I'm furious with you chumps!"

Radicles scoffed and grumped to himself. "Pssh, figures…" he muttered pessimistically. However, K.O. still wasn't willing to throw in the towel just yet.

"Okay, then...one thing then, Mr. Mimic…" started K.O., "From the looks of it, you seem to have a real beef with me in particular…as opposed to just the rest of my friends..."

The mimic snarled in fury. "And who wouldn't!?" it screeched, "You're always walking around with that big, doofy, punchable smile all the time! It's disgusting!" The others glared and bared their teeth right back at the mimic because of its harsh insult towards their little friend, with Red Action's angry stare being more intense than the others.

"How about you take that back, you bas-"

"Red Action, _please._"

Red Action's curse was almost cut short when, unexpectedly, _K.O._ was the one who calmly shushed her instead of Enid. Red looked down at K.O., his sad, but serious eyes gazing into her own. She could clearly sense a hurt feeling glistening in K.O.'s eyes, but the stern expression that the boy was trying to give to her indicated that he needed to deal with this mimic personally.

It took a bit of effort, but Red Action had slowly simmered down and kept to herself in respectful, though bitter silence.

K.O. nodded and smiled softly in appreciation before he faced the mimic and scrunched his face up a look of seriousness. Although, a hint of desperation flickered subtly in his eyes, in spite of how stern he was trying to be. "Mr. Mimic, all I just wanna know is what I did to make you hate us. That's all. That way, we can try and civilly resolve this situation without violence and we can get back to our usual lives again."

K.O.'s friends watched the scene before them in concerned silence. As they all knew, K.O. would usually attempt to solve some problems in a less-drastic and less-violent manner. However, considering as they had been duking it out with a temperamental and unpredictable mimic all day, somehow Enid, Rad, and the others had a weird feeling that the mimic wouldn't be swayed so easily with such calmness and civility.

And unfortunately, they were proven correct as the mimic shivered in vexation, its face glowing red and its frown deepening.

"'Civilly resolve this situation!?'" rumbled the mimic, its eyes bulging in disbelief and anger. "How much of a blasted pacifist can you _be_, child!? Are you _that_ dense!?"

K.O. slowly stepped backwards after hearing the mimic spout more obscenities, knowing he must've touched another nerve. Rad, Enid, Gary, Mr. Gar, and Red Action each gasped softly and gazed at the mimic as watchfully like hawks; something told them something bad was soon to happen and they had to keep a vigilant lookout just in case trouble was to ensue.

Additionally, K.O. tried his best to keep holding a brave, stern face up at his body-changing enemy, even though deep down, he was still very nervous upon having to deal with this mimic for any longer than he desired.

K.O.'s friends also felt the same way, too. They were quite adamant about dealing with this mimic for as long as needed. Enid, in particular, was slowly getting fed up as she tried to assess the situation before the mimic could inflict more verbal damage to K.O.'s mindset.

"Look, mimic…I know you ain't happy being stuck like this, but that's rough. We're exhausted, sore, and tired of having to deal with your pink butt all ding-dong day, y'know…" she huffed rudely. The mimic sniffed in response.

"The feeling's mutual…" snarked back the mimic dully.

Enid frowned and burrowed her frow. "But, for one thing, I don't appreciate you putting down my friends with your insults, especially to K.O.." she scolded crossly, gesturing to the shivering, worried boy beside her, "All we simply wanna know is what's bugging you?"

The mimic growled. "_Nothing's bothering me!_" it snapped, raising its voice an octave, "Get that through your thick head already!"

Next, it was Red Action's turn to scowl. "If that's so, why do you keep calling K.O. a 'killer' then, huh? What the heck could someone as sweet as him do something so bad for you to call him that!?" she demanded in a sharp, impatient tone. By now, the mimic was growing more and more infuriated by all this interrogation.

"It's none of your concern, lady!" shrilled the mimic. Red growled and clenched her fists.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure it is!" she shot back, "These are my friends that you're insulting!" Enid suppressed the urge to groan in annoyance, knowing this interrogation was flying off the tracks already. Hoping to get this mess over with, Enid stepped back up towards the mimic, now ready to put her own two cents into the matter.

"Mimic, please. If you can just explain what the heck the problem is with why you have such a beef with us, then we can show mercy to you…" she tried to assure, despite her voice sounding quite tired and annoyed. The mimic, instead of snapping back with another loud remark, simply growled and looked away with righteous contempt.

"Clearly you hardly bothered to show mercy when you, your blue idiot pal, and that _child_ had murd…grrrrr..."

The mimic then suddenly stopped its own sentence right away, growling in agitation before something most peculiar could be accidentally revealed. Enid and the others certainly caught onto this right away.

"Excuse me? We had 'what'?" questioned Enid curiously, still trying to sound stern. The mimic scoffed and tried to act casual.

"None of your concern, human…" it grumbled stubbornly. Enid sneered and marched up to the mimic's frozen body, staring at the malleable fiend in the eyes.

"You heard me, mimic." she insisted sharply, "What did K.O., Rad, and I do to you?"

"Yeah!" piped up Radicles, "We don't even know ya...unless you count those other mimics we fought back here a while ago…"

The mimic nearly boiled over with rage upon hearing what Rad had said. His innocent-sounding statement was enough to trigger something in the deepest regions of the mimic's brain to cause it to act in an almost-feral state of mind.

The others were quick to notice the mimic's change in behavior and they tried to act accordingly. They each kept their distance away from the frozen mimic, just in case it decided to pull a fast one on them. Gary even stepped up before the others, ready to cast another spell on the mimic should something suspicious would happen.

Even so, the mimic kept snarling and shaking furiously, staring evilly at the other Lakewood heroes with pure, unquenched hatred.

"Don't you _dare_ bring them up…" hissed the mimic, its voice laced with rage, but with a hint of forlornness and grief mixed in as well. The mimic's sudden peak in anger certainly didn't go unnoticed by the other heroes.

"Don't bring who up, mate?" Gary questioned boldly. The mimic snorted in fury.

"None of your business, wizard!" it spat out, still not willing to fully open up. However, the others still weren't giving up that easily.

"Well, come on, now…" gruffed Mr. Gar, "You already brought them up. You might as well explain what the deal is…"

The mimic still remained stubborn, even though it was clearly becoming antsy while under pressure. "Never!" it barked out defiantly.

By now, the other heroes were getting irritated as well, all now wanting this whole ordeal done and over with. Red Action, in particular, was the most agitated out of all of them, seeing as she wasn't permitted to shoot this mimic to bits yet, as per Enid's orders.

"Just tell us what's going on with you already!" she snapped, stepping right up at the half-frozen mimic to jab an accusing finger straight at its face. The mimic snarled in response.

"Make me, loser!" it raged, "You're all a pack of relentless thugs deep down inside! Murderers who label themselves as 'heroes' just to get fame and adulation from lower beings! I should've known a group of jerks like you lot would try to do something to hurt mimics like me!"

Judging by the mimic's hate-laced ranting and raving, Enid, Red Action, and the others knew they were slowing beginning to strike a nerve on the mimic, which should hopefully cause its to reveal its true intentions for laying waste at the plaza. K.O., however, decided to try and confront the mimic once again to get it to speak up again.

"What are you talking about, Mr. Mimic?" asked K.O. despairingly, confused at what the mimic was going by, "Why would you think about something like that?"

It only took that one innocent-sounding query from K.O. to cause the mimic to fully snap...coupled with the fact that nobody was expecting this to be said from the mimic's mouth.

"_BECAUSE YOU FREAKS TOOK AWAY MY ONLY FRIENDS, THAT'S WHAT!_"

The mimic's jaw-dropping words echoed loudly all around the room, the noise reverbing back and forth against the walls. Everyone's eyes widened with shock, each of them not expecting such a bomb to be dropped on them like that. Red Action forgot to act macho towards the mimic, Mr. Gar felt his stern nature slip away to let astonishment take place instead, and Gary could only look on in frightful silence as the mimic breathed heavily after going through with its deafening, disclosing outburst.

K.O., Rad, and Enid, meanwhile, seemed to be most surprised about this reveal in comparison to the others.

"W-We...did what?" uttered Enid, more confused than shaken up. The mimic sizzled and frowned deeply with silent rage.

"You. Took. Away. My friends…" emphasized the mimic in its most blunt voice yet, its eyes focused sharply at the three bodega workers in particular, "The last time you three jerks traversed into the bodega's backroom - _my_ private domain - you came across two of my friends along your travels. Do you not remember?"

Rad, Enid, and K.O. mulled over what the mimic was talking about, where luckily, it didn't take them long to realize what it was talking about. Back when K.O. was fairly new to the bodega crew, the trio had to trek through the deepest recesses of the stockroom to get more shaving cream for Fish Dude when the store shelves ran out. Along the way, they came across many obstacles, including a pair of other troublesome mimics that nearly hindered their search.

These mimics were just as ruthless and tricky as the one before them, with yet another mimic having successfully escaped the stockroom disguised as the desired can of shaving cream they've been scouring around for, to which it immediately attacked Rad, Enid, and K.O. from inside the bodega. Luckily, the three friends were able to extinguish this mimic as quickly as they did with the other one before things got really out of hand.

Evidently, those mimics must be the supposed "friends" to this mimic. The "friends" that the bodega trio had fought so long ago.

And clearly, this mimic knew who were the ones that caused those fates to happen to its friends.

"It's because of you three that they are all gone now!" hissed the mimic, "You lousy 'heroes' just had to mosey into my own neck of the woods and just end their existences in _cold blood!_ And for _what!?_ For some stupid _shaving cream!?_ Unbelievable! Since then, I've been by myself for so long with no one to talk to or to be with! It's absolutely _maddening!_ Do you moronic fools know how boring it could be waiting around in that Cob-forsaken stockroom _alone_ all the live-long day!? I'm always stuck in some lousy, confusing, interchangeable dungeon to try and abide my boredom! No one else to speak to or be with after you three destroyed my only friends! Just me and a small television set to help give me something to do, and even then, that does _diddly-squat_ for me because I ain't got cable on that TV! I had to watch _public access_ like a mongrel! I'm sick of being alone all the blasted time! Every single day, it's been me, myself, and I ever since I lost my friends to you deplorable _killers!_"

At this point, the mimic was breathing heavily and uncontrollably. Its pinkish face was now a bright shade of red, mainly from how exhausted and upset it was by now. To say that K.O., Enid, and Radicles were speechless was an utter understatement, and judging by the wide-eyed expressions that Mr. Gar, Red, and Gary were sporting, they were just as surprised as the bodega trio was, too.

At last, the mimic slowly down its breathing so it could speak up again, continuing on with its long rant..

"When I found out my friends were vanquished, something in my mind...snapped. I knew the likes of you must've had a hand in it. You 'heroes' always have a knack for causing so much trouble…" sneered the mimic in a low, bitter voice. Gary, meanwhile, seemed flabbergasted.

"What're you going on about, mate?" asked Gary in pure confusion, "These guys bust their humps day-in / day-out to protect this plaza for so many villains every day! Now look, I don't know why you're still latching onto this 'murderer' nonsense, but it has to stop!" Enid nodded in agreement, having just managed to find her voice.

"Gary's right, dude...look, I know you're upset and all, but you gotta realize, they attacked us first! We were simply defending ourselves!" she insisted, with Rad then joining her.

"Yeah, plus, one of your friends disguised itself as me and tried to hurt my friends!" he reminded sternly. The mimic could only scoff at this, averting its gaze away from the heroes.

"As if I care..." growled the mimic, "Besides, the deed has already been done."

It then came as a major surprise to everyone else in the room as they then noticed something that they'd never thought they'd see the mimic do at this point.

There, they noticed the mimic slowly beginning to form tears in its eyes. The mimic choked back a sob and its menacing frown deepened even harder, its face now full of nothing but pure misery.

"They were my only friends, too...the only beings I could stand to call my comrades. The three of us shared a common interest: detesting those like you lot that are inferior to us mimics. We mimics may be crafty, but we're at least chivalrous. The moment those three bodega bums came here, they just left no mercy towards my friends!" growled the mimic, still trying not to shred anymore tears, even through its heartbroken tone. Enid, slowly becoming annoyed, only groaned in response to this as she rubbed her forehead.

"Oh, for the love of...it was self-defense!" retorted Enid in exhaustion, "_Your _friends ambushed us first, you loon! We had no choice!" The mimic raised an eyebrow and gave Enid a unamused frown.

"Hmph, did you now?" it mused sarcastically, "Thank the Heavens, though, that _you_ still have _your_ friends still by your side…"

Enid exhaled and tried not to let fatigue overcome her, though given the predicament that she and her friends were caught in, it certainly becoming quite difficult to reason with their shapeshifting enemy, especially with how stubborn the mimic was. Red Action carefully came up to Enid and rubbed her back in reassurance, as a soft and worried frown creeped on the Hue Trooper's face. She knew Enid and her friends were going through such a hard time right now.

Radicles, meanwhile, sighed in defeat and slumped his broad shoulders downward; he knew this mimic wasn't inclined to cooperate with him and the others in one way or another. Mr. Gar could only stare at all this in silence, though behind his normally stoic demeanor housed a feeling of concern for his employees, as he knew how dangerous it was that his workers were dealing with an unpredictable body-morphing creature at the moment.

And as for Gary, he simply gazed vigilantly at the mimic, as to make sure it wouldn't try anything funny business yet again, though even he was deathly worried for the sake of his friends about them partaking in dealing with this mimic for so long today.

All in all, everybody was conflicted on how they should be feeling right now. Although they were all still royally (and understandably) ticked off at the mimic for causing such a ruckus at the plaza, they all still managed to form a tiny scrap of sympathy towards the mimic as well, after knowing it has lost its own friends in battle. And, to be honest, the other heroes weren't exactly sure how else to handle this situation, especially since the mimic was still being too stubborn to deal with right now.

However, just as all hope was soon to be lost, one hero was willing to try and make something of a stand between him and the mimic, as an attempt to bring some semblance of peace within this situation.

"...E-Excuse me...mimic…?"

The mimic looked down and cocked a curious, though annoyed eyebrow, upon seeing the small, tall-haired, legwarmer-wearing boy slowly inch forward from behind his friends and right up to where it's frozen body was (though, still not as close, as to keep his distance just in case). Once again, K.O. had mustered up something of a brave face again, but instead of a stern frown, the expression K.O. was sporting seemed to look more placid and apologetic. The other heroes watched in interest and mild concern as K.O. stepped up to the plate, ready to put himself into the fray again.

The mimic, however, seemed irritated. "_Now_ what do you want, child?" it groused lowly.

K.O. coughed into his fist, still hiding away his fear for a few minutes as to keep his composure strong and intact. He inhaled and exhaled once before he spoke up again.

"Mr. Mimic...I'm sorry you lost your friends...and that my friends and I were the ones who got rid of them in the first place…"

The mimic's angered expressions suddenly softened, in lieu of a more confused and surprised look instead.

"I beg your pardon?" it asked, almost hushed.

K.O. nearly trembled on the spot, his heart pounding like a jackhammer, but still, he kept on speaking towards his foe.

"Mr. Mimic...I'm really sorry we had to hurt your friends like that. L-Like Enid said, it was in self-defense, but what we did to your other mimic friends was still mean and uncalled for. I-I'm not sure how to make it up to you, but I do want to say that we're very sorry for what we did...right, guys?"

Enid and Rad nearly jumped upon being beckoned by their younger comrade, with the boy in question looking back at them up a hopeful, small smile. The two teens frowned softly; as much as they detested in apologizing towards the mimic, especially after it had nearly decimated the plaza in a fit of rage and insanity, they also didn't want to disappoint K.O. either.

It took some time to contemplate over their choices, but soon enough, K.O.'s hopeful expression seemed to get the better of Rad and Enid as they begrudgingly sided with their little friend in the end.

"Yeah, I suppose…" mumbled Enid, rolling her eyes.

"Mmm...we're sorry, I guess…" huffed Rad, crossing his arms. K.O. smiled softly as he turned his sights back at the mimic.

"See?" he continued, "We really shouldn't have reacted so hastily to your friends, Mr. Mimic...we should've been more tactful."

The mimic carefully hung on each of K.O.'s words, its anger seemingly diminishing throughout all of this. Although the mimic could still feel anger coursing through its veins, K.O.'s words somehow managed to make the shapeshifter slowly calm down and listen to the boy carefully, letting his sincere apology sink into its mind.

Needless to say, the mimic was truly at a loss for words.

"...w-well...I'm not sure what to say…" the mimic truthfully stated in its most earnest-sounding tone. K.O.'s smile grew an inch; it seems like he may be making progress in making peace with the mimic after all.

"Well, if it may be okay with you…" finished K.O., now hoping to drive home his offer towards the mimic, the hope-filled smile still shining brightly across the boy's face, "I may have an offer that may interest you…"

The mimic raised a confused eyebrow. The other heroes all gazed at K.O., all looking just as perplexed.

"An...offer?" the mimic repeated back slowly. Enid blinked twice in mild surprise.

"K.O., what're you talking about?" she asked. K.O. mustered up a small, but brave smile.

"Well…" began K.O., "I was hoping that maybe, if it wants to, the mimic could take up a new goal. One where it can be a hero like us instead of a villain."

Everyone lightly gasped at the sound of K.O.'s ludicrous-sounding suggestion, each of them surprised to hear K.O. even consider such a thing. And suffice to say, the mimic was just as shocked itself from hearing such an offer.

"You want _me_...to join up with you...and your friends...to be a _hero?_" asked the mimic, slowly and carefully as it was sobering up from all this confusion. K.O. nodded.

"Yep. I, for one, feel the mimic could be able to use its powers for good instead of revenge." explained K.O. compassionately, "Each hero in the plaza is unique in his or her own way, and the mimic can be no exception! If it decides to join us, we can teach it to be a great, aspiring hero, just like us. We can give the mimic a new leash on life!"

The other heroes could only frown unsurely at what K.O. was dishing out; considering how malicious and demented the mimic was while it was going through with its reign of terror on the plaza, coupled with the fact that it bullied K.O. to the point of turning into T.K.O., the others weren't too excited to trust the mimic to straight up switch sides and become a hero like them...that is if the mimic actually _wanted_ to switch sides in the first place!

Enid looked down at K.O. with uncertainty. "K.O., are you sure you wanna do this?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rad put in, looking quite cautious, "This mimic's a sneaky trickster...and quite dangerous…"

"Not to mention it tormented you and caused you to go berserk…" Red Action added vehemently, glaring daggers at the mimic distrustingly. K.O. gave them a small smile in return, in hopes to reassure them.

"Just trust me on this." was his simple response before he turned back up to the silent mimic with nothing but hope in his eyes and voice.

"So, what you say, Mr. Mimic? Do you want to throw away the shackles of villainy and join us in our quest to protect humanity?"

The mimic, still frozen in place and stuck in its humanoid-like form, stared down at the hopeful, little boy for what felt like hours upon end. As if its voice was completely unable to produce words, the shapeshifter could stare blankly at the child, mulling over its answer with calm, thoughtful contemplation. Rad, Enid, and Red Action were on edge about how this situation could end...though if you ask them, they had a hunch this could only end badly, in spite of K.O.'s reassurance. Mr. Gar only stood back, sternly staring at the mimic in case it tried to do something funny, whereas deep down, despite his usual stoic demeanor, he was just as worried as the others were, especially for K.O.'s sake. And as for Gary, he was sweating bullets upon seeing the mimic go toe-to-toe with K.O. like this, along with the fact that he was just as unsure if the mimic would switch sides as well, though he tried not to let his nervousness and uncertainty show.

And as for K.O., well, even though his face was clearly sporting a big, hopeful, innocent smile, deep down, he was admittedly nervous, too. He clearly knew the mimic could be a tricky threat to all, and he especially didn't forget about the whole "T.K.O." incident earlier today. But, as an upstanding hero-in-training, K.O. knew that everyone should be entitled to having a second chance, whether they're a hero, a villain, or in-between. Even so, in spite of his own doubts, K.O. was willing to take a bullet for the team and to help lead the mimic down the pathway to enlightenment.

The pathway to become a great hero instead of a petty villain.

And hopefully, thanks to K.O.'s efforts, the mimic could be swayed to join their side to fight for good.

...or will it?

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

* * *

**Welp, figures we'd end this on a cliffhanger, huh?**

**Okay, so, the idea originally was that I wanted this chapter done in full, with the reveal and what follows after to be shown on this chapter as well, but because I've been somewhat falling behind on working on my other stories, I needed to upload something from this story. So, as not to fall behind **_**too**_ **too much, I'm splitting apart this final chapter into two parts, with this chapter having revealed the mimic's true intentions for hating on our heroes and the next part that'll reveal whether or not the mimic will follow through with K.O.'s offer to be a hero. Rest assured, the next chapter, along with the epilogue, shall arrive in February.**

**So, as we've seen, the mimic has been revealed to be holding a grudge against K.O., Rad, and Enid because of their actions in vanquishing some other mimics back in the Season One episode, "Do You Have Any More in the Back?". I was hoping to add some sympathy in the mimic's backstory as to why it wanted to target the plaza and our three main heroes, and because of that, I decided that K.O. should try and play peacekeeper in the sense of actually offering the mimic a chance to join forces with them, instead of just fighting the mimic as they've been doing throughout the story.. However, whether or not the mimic shall follow through with this is ambiguous for right now. ;)**

**What shall be the mimic's ultimate answer be in the end? That shall be found out once the second part is finished. Until then, stay tuned. ;)**

**~Thunderbyrd**


	8. Chapter 8: Strife at the Stockroom P2

**Ok, so, NOW, we're reaching the real finale.**

**Once again, I must apologize for splitting this chapter in half, thus making it a cliffhanger. But now, I was able to finish up this part of the chapter and I can soon get it done for you guys. So, as we left our heroes, we have discovered that the mimic revealed its grudge against K.O. and his friends because of what they did to the mimic's other friends in "Do You Have Any More in the Back?", and we also have K.O. attempting to sway the mimic to become a hero instead of a villain at the tail end of the story.**

**Will the mimic take up on K.O.'s offer to switch sides and become good and heroic? Let's find out. ;)**

**OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun).**

* * *

**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**CHAPTER SEVEN: STRIFE AT THE STOCKROOM (PART TWO)**

"So, what do you say, Mr. Mimic? Do you want to throw away the shackles of villainy and join us in our quest to protect humanity?"

The mimic, still frozen in place and stuck in its humanoid-like form, stared down at the hopeful, little boy for what felt like hours upon end. As if its voice was completely unable to produce words, the shapeshifter could stare blankly at the child, mulling over its answer with calm, thoughtful contemplation. Rad, Enid, and Red Action were on edge about how this situation could end...though if you ask them, they had a hunch this could only end badly, in spite of K.O.'s reassurance. Mr. Gar only stood back, sternly staring at the mimic in case it tried to do something funny, whereas deep down, despite his usual stoic demeanor, he was just as worried as the others were, especially for K.O.'s sake. And as for Gary, he was sweating bullets upon seeing the mimic go toe-to-toe with K.O. like this, along with the fact that he was just as unsure if the mimic would switch sides as well, though he tried not to let his nervousness and uncertainty show.

And as for K.O., well, even though his face was clearly sporting a big, hopeful, innocent smile, deep down, he was admittedly nervous, too. He clearly knew the mimic could be a tricky threat to all, and he especially didn't forget about the whole "T.K.O." incident earlier today. But, as an upstanding hero-in-training, K.O. knew that everyone should be entitled to having a second chance, whether they're a hero, a villain, or in-between. Even so, in spite of his own doubts, K.O. was willing to take a bullet for the team and to help lead the mimic down the pathway to enlightenment.

The pathway to become a great hero instead of a petty villain.

And hopefully, thanks to K.O.'s efforts, the mimic could be swayed to join their side to fight for good.

"...no…"

Everyone went wide-eyed at that response. Did they really hear that correctly?

K.O. nearly went pale in the face at all this. "...W-What?" he asked, fearing the worst. The mimic, now forgetting to look surprised and calm, simply glowered at K.O., any traces of forgiveness now replaced with more rising anger.

"I...said...NO!" barked back the mimic forcefully, "Why should I leave behind a life of mayhem and chaos? And why would I be friends with someone like you!? In case you forgot, I'm. A. Villain! Villains are evil through and through!"

K.O. shuddered with fright, having his hopes for turning the mimic onto a new leaf now dashed and shattered. "B-B-But, that's not true! You can still have the chance to change all that! You don't need to be driven by revenge to feel satisfied. You can have friends again!" The mimic's scowl went even deeper.

"Feh! Yeah, right!" scoffed the mimic nastily, "As if I want to be _friends_ with the likes of you murderers! You are the same; all just as two-faced as us mimics...maybe even more!" The other heroes froze in shock.

"Mate...that was ice cold…" commented Gary, hushed. The mimic gave the stockroom wizard the stink eye.

"Stow it, wizard!" snapped the mimic before it turned its attention back to the scared-looking K.O., "Get this through your head, you little twerp. I _don't_ want to be good. I _don't_ want to be redeemed. And I certainly _don't_ want to be a hero like you and your prissy, weakling lackeys over there. This is the life _I_ prefer to live and _you_ and your worthless friends should respect that! I'd rather mingle with _my_ own kind, thank you very much!"

Enid clenched her fists in annoyance. "Dude, he's just giving you a chance to switch sides!" she retaliated, "There's no need to be a whiner about it."

Red Action then stepped forward in defense for her little friend as well. "Yeah, ya jerk! Lay off the kid already!" she barked.

The mimic snarled. "My decision is final, human!" it retorted harshly, "I ain't leaving a life of wanton destruction to be a hero. And on top of that, I still ain't forgiving you freaks for killing _my_ own friends!"

The mimic's increasing rage caused its body temperature to rise up drastically, meaning that its body was warming up greatly from how enraged it was. So much so that the climbing heat was able to cause something to happen to the magical frozen ice Gary had encased the mimic in.

***DRIP!*** ***DRIP!*** ***DRIP!*** ***DRIP!***

Tiny droplets of water came streaming down the mimic's frozen body and began splashing lightly on the ground below. This didn't go unnoticed, however, as the six heroes then began silently fretting to themselves upon witnessing all this, with Gary especially becoming frantic, though only in his mind as not to cause major panic amongst the others.

'_This shouldn't happen…_' he thought worriedly, '_This is magic ice! It shouldn't melt as easily! Cor, this mimic must __**really**_ _be steamed…_'

Gary's heartbeat accelerated and his eyes boggled in terror as then, something else happened regarding the mimic.

***CRACKLE-CRACKLE!*** ***CRACKLE-CRACKLE!***

Much to everyone's collective horror, parts of the frozen shell surrounding the mimic began to form cracks as the heat caused the ice to become thin and frail with every last melting drop. The mimic shuddered and shook violently within its thinning ice chamber, growling and snarling like a caged dog ready to be let out to pounce on its prey. Its eyes gazed menacingly at K.O..

"Get this through your big head, boy…" the mimic began, slowly and angrily, "I _don't_ want to switch sides, I _don't_ want to be a hero, and I most certainly _don't_ want to do good...there's absolutely nothing that you nor your worthless friends could say that could change my mind…"

Poor K.O. helplessly froze on the spot, unable to move as though he was frozen himself. Fear and hopelessness stabbed at his heart throughout the mimic's rant, which soon ended on a dreadful note as the mimic's eyes went from striking yellow to blood red in an instant. The ending message the mimic added to its rant was blunt and heart-piercing.

"...and most importantly, child...I. Don't. Ever. Want. To be. _Your._ _**FRIEND!**_"

K.O. felt as though his world was crumbling all around him. He instinctively backed away, knowing something bad was to happen soon enough, especially seeing as how the mimic was still clearly holding an unfixable grudge towards him. He tried his hardest not to shed any fearful tears, but he couldn't help but to quake in dread as he gazed up at the mimic with big, glassy, scared eyes.

But, before K.O. can try to do anything else, everything happened at once...

***CRACK!*** ***CRUNCH!***

Larger cracks began forming all around the mimic's icy shell-like prison, meaning that the melting ice was as thin and brittle as a sheet of glass by now. Unfortunately for our heroes, that also meant one other thing…

"GRRRRRRRR-_RAAAAAGGGGHHH!_" ***SMASH!***

...the mimic was completely able to break itself free from its icy state as it broke through its frail ice chamber with a quick punch as if it was nothing.

The thin block of ice split into two halves, each half falling down on their sides and then shattering upon impact on the ground, like fragile eggshells. Everyone in the stockroom lobby froze in utter fear as they all saw what had transpired before all of them.

The mimic was free at last, and it was now able to move under its own power once again.

Thanks to its inner rage helping to cause the mimic's insides to boil like lava, the mimic was able to warm itself up again. It hunched over and fell on its knees, breathing heavily and seething with heaps of inner rage. Shards of ice slid off the mimic's body.

And once the mimic had its sights aimed directly at K.O., all Hell was ready to break loose.

"And now...you..._shall...__**PAY!**_"

K.O. hadn't been able to react quickly enough to try and do anything to protect himself from any attacks, giving the mimic enough ample time to lunge straight at the shell-shocked boy like a bloodthirsty jaguar. The mimic bared its sharp teeth and let its hateful stare bore a deep, burning hole right into K.O.'s face, causing the young hero to quiver and attempt to wiggle out from the mimic's grasp, but with no success.

The mimic snarled like a mad dog. It frothed at the mouth as if it had an infectious case of rabies. K.O. felt the mimic's hot breath that was hissing from its nostrils shower him as he cowered under the mimic's unbreakable grip. With the mimic holding the boy down to the ground with no way for him to escape, the mimic seethed and felt its chance for vanquishing its enemy to become a reality as it was ready to land the first strike right at poor, scared, defenseless K.O..

Soon, revenge will soon be justified for our mimic foe.

"We'll see who's the true hero now once I-"

***BANG!*** ***WARBLE!***

"...What the!?"

Before the mimic could even think about trying to willingly harm the life out of K.O., the mimic felt one of its legs tug backwards unexpectedly and uncomfortably. Curious and enraged, the mimic looked back to see that one of K.O.'s friends was able to be quick enough to act fast and protect their little friend, in which in the mimc almost forgot that it and the boy were still in the presence of others.

In this case, it was Radicles who stepped up to the plate as he used his signature telekinesis powers to shoot a lasso-like beam right around the mimic's right leg from his index finger, ensnaring it firmly and tightly as so the mimic wouldn't be able to escape.

It was also apparent that Rad was also done fooling around, as shown by the incredibly-miffed expression he was sporting right now.

Everything went silent. Mr. Gar, Enid, Red Action, Gary, and even K.O. gazed in frightful concern at what was to happen, but no one was as shocked as the mimic, as it leered back at the furious alien with big eyes and a scared frown.

Before the mimic could say anything else, Rad quickly lifted his arm high above him, with his telekinesis still in play.

***WHOOSH!*** "_WHOOOOAAAA!_"

The poor mimic suddenly felt itself launched into the air by Rad's levitational beam, so harshly and unpredictably that the mimic could only scream and flail in horror as it was catapulted up from the ground…

***SMASH!*** "_GAH-HA-HA-HA-OUCH!_"

...and was swung right onto the ceiling with a severe smash.

Everybody winced at witnessing such an impact, aside from Radicles as he furiously swung his arm straight back down, slamming the mimic back down on the ground again.

***SMASH!*** "_YEE-OUCH! STOP! PLEASE!_" wailed the mimic, writhing in pain.

Rad, meanwhile, glowered in an uncharacteristic scowl as, without any warnings at all, he flailed his telekinetic arm all around, prompting the mimic to be carried back and forth in the air like an old rag doll, causing the poor shapeshifter to shriek and cry out in pain and terror.

"This is what you get for hurting my friends, you pink jerk!" bellowed Radicles angrily, still smacking around the mimic with no remorse.

The mimic felt its life flashing before its own eyes as all this happened. By getting slammed and smashed against any hard object in the stockroom area they were holed up in, from crates to shelves to forklifts to palettes, the mimic was so incapacitated that it couldn't even morph into anything to help it out in its situation. The mimic felt its bones crack and its head pound in pain with every harsh impact, with no other option left but to scream and cry in agony. Everyone else stood back and were slack-jawed with shock and mild fear as they all collectively watched Radicles unmercilessly wail on the mimic like a madman.

Enid, in particular, was rocked to her core upon seeing her usually-jovial and relaxed alien friend act so barbaric right now. After witnessing Rad wail relentlessly on the mimic, as well as seeing him easily take down the BoxMore 'Bots earlier today in one fell swoop, Enid could only note down one life lesson to take from today's crazy events.

'_Note to self: __**never**_ _tick off Rad…_' Enid thought to herself.

Soon enough, Radicles finished off his barrage against the shapeshifter as he swung his arm to the right, sending the now-levitated mimic to slam right against a large crate with a resonating smash! The alien slowly began to calm himself down as he released the mimic from his telekinetic grasp.

By now, the mimic was in a terrible, undignified state. Laying in a heap with a broken left leg, a janked-up right arm that bended in an awfully-obtuse angle, and more bruises, cuts, and scrapes than the mimic knew what to do with, the shapeshifter let out a prolonged, pained groan as it tried to get itself back up on its feet once again. The mimic's legs felt weak as its knees wobbled like gelatin. Pain pricked everywhere inside the mimic's body, but it wasn't willing to throw in the towel just yet.

It took a massive amount of effort, but the mimic was slowly, but surely able to get upright again, now back on its own two feet, albeit with its knees still sore and wobbly. The mimic groaned, coughed, and spat up drops of drool in its mouth, summoning enough strength to look back at Radicles to give him a nasty scowl.

"Grrrr...you blue, big, jughead!" snarled the mimic vehemently, wiping away the drool from its mouth, "Once I'm done eradicating that boy, _**you're next!**_"

As if to prove that it wasn't joking around, the mimic then raised its right arm, quickly morphing it into that of a massive tentacle. Its sights were now directly aimed at all the other heroes standing before it. The mimic inhaled and exhaled heavily, its rage still climbing in spite of the pain it was feeling.

"You worthless humans shall feel my wrath...I may be the only mimic to reside in Lakewood, but soon, my revenge will be complete!" vowed the mimic.

The heroes reeled back in horror, keeping their distance as far away as possible from the mimic, with K.O. now scampering back closer to his friends for protection. However, one certain hero personally had enough of this nonsense and was ready to end this problem before it escalated to an even bigger one.

"Grr, listen here, you punk!" boomed Mr. Gar, stepping forward and jabbing a beefy finger at the mimic, "You have 'til the count of three to end this lousy grudge right now or else things are gonna get _messy!_ One-"

***SMACK!***

"_OOF!_"

***KER-SMASH!***

"MR. GAR!"

The other heroes gasped and yelped in pure terror as the mimic nonchalantly flicked Mr. Gar aside with its tentacle arm, sending the high-levelled plaza protector harshly careening into a stack of boxes. The boxes toppled all over the knocked-out muscular boss-man. Mr. Gar groaned painfully, but aside from some bruises, he wasn't fatally injured. The mimic smirked.

"Anyone else wanna be brave or stupid enough to test my patience?" it challenged.

None of the heroes didn't know what to do. With Mr. Gar incapacitated, they almost felt like they don't have that much of a chance to stop this mimic now. Not enough Rad's beatdown against the mimic just earlier was enough to stop it; this mimic was practically indestructible.

"What the actual heck are we gonna do!?" gasped Enid, her face sweating in shock.

"We can't keep fighting this guy forever!" added Red Action, hushed. However, Gary seemed to have sparked an idea.

"Hang on, I think I have a spell for this." whispered Gary, picking up his trusty book of spells and opening it up, "If freezing the mimic won't defeat it, then maybe we could send it off to another dimension so it'll stay away from us for good."

"Are ya sure that'll work?" asked Enid. Gary nodded bravely.

"Positive. Once we send it off, it'll never be able to come to our world again. Just see if you can distract this bugger for a sec. I gotta search for this spell and recite its passages." he explained, now quickly scanning through the pages for the specific spell he's hoping to use.

K.O., Enid, Red Action, and Radicles stood by, looking at each other and then back at the snarling mimic ahead of them. As much as they really didn't want to spar against the mimic yet again, they had to give Gary enough time and breathing room to find this spell and send the mimic away for good.

Enid sighed and looked at Gary with seriousness. "We'll do our best, Gary. Just try and-ACK!"

A tentacle suddenly ensnared around Enid's waist, giving it a tight grip. Enid gasped hoarsely and it constricted her out of nowhere. The mimic grinned nastily, having been able to capture Enid so quickly. Then, the mimic reeled back its arm, flinging Enid in the air, and then sending the ninja-witch teen to crash into a nearby forklift!

***SMACK!*** "OUCH!"

Enid dizzily moaned, her body limping against the forklift. The impact had caused Enid to leave a human-shaped dent on the vehicle's side. Everyone gasped, but no one was more terrified of Enid's condition than Red Action was.

"ENID!" she cried. Radicles stepped up.

"Don't worry, I'll get her!" yelled Rad, but unfortunately, the mimic was three steps ahead of him as the blue alien was also quickly wrapped up in the mimic's tentacle as well! K.O., hiding behind Red Action, gasped.

"Rad! Enid!" he cried helplessly, tears welling up in his fear-stricken eyes. The mimic carried the captured Rad right up in the air, with the alien in question struggling to break himself free from the mimic's grasp. The mimic cackled wildly.

"Let's see how _you_ like getting swung around, you alien freak!"

And with that said, Rad suddenly found himself getting spun around and around in the air at warp speed. Rad yelled and groaned loudly, unable to free himself. He felt he was on a drug-fueled Tilt-a-Twirl!

"PLEASE, STOP!" wailed Rad, getting dizzier by the second, "I'M SORRY I LOST MY TEMPER! JUST LET ME LIVE! I'M TOO HANDSOME, TALENTED, AND BUFF TO DIE! _PLEASE!_"

The mimic, still spinning Rad around in the air, smirked mischievously. "Whatever you say…" it crooned.

Although the mimic did release Rad, the buff alien was still suspended in the air as the mimic let go of him, sending Rad spiraling down to the ground and right into some wooden barrels. Rad, still screaming his head off, plummeted down to Earth with an almighty crash!

***CRASH!***

Rad smashed into the barrels at top speed, causing them to explode into splinters upon impact. Rad, his face planted on the ground, only mustered the energy to groan as he was too dizzy to even try to fight back at the moment. He laid on the ground in a slump, leaving only two heroes to try and keep the mimic occupied until Gary was able to find the spell.

K.O. and Red Action.

The mimic felt a grin stretch across its face; revenge was now closer than it had realized. "So, all that leaves is the hopeless child and the brave warrior...this'll be an interesting match-up." mused the mimic.

K.O. quivered behind Red Action, clinging to her human leg with fear. With his boss and his two older, surrogate siblings each downed and unable to fight, K.O. didn't know what to do to fend himself off against this body-morphing fiend. Peacefully talking to the mimic didn't do any wonders, and it seems like this mimic was simply brushing off their other attacks, so now, the poor boy was left at a crossroads, unsure of what else to do.

Red Action, meanwhile, seemed uncertain of what to do herself. As a member of the Hue Troop, she was meant to be brave, virtuous, upstanding, and quick-thinking. But, now, even _she_ was beginning to feel a little scared. Nothing was able to take down this mimic, and even when they tried slowing it down, the mimic still got back up afterwards, ready to fight again. It unnerved Red Action greatly, and now she too was unsure on what else could be done at this time.

However, after witnessing the mimic torment K.O. all day today, she wasn't willing to let the mimic get to K.O. any longer.

Standing her ground, Red Action gave the mimic her most hardest, most defiant stare ever made. Her facial features radiated a protective nature that could only be seen when a parent or older sibling are keeping their youngest child out of harm's way, and in this case, while Red Action and K.O. weren't related by blood, Red wasn't going to let anything bad happen to her surrogate little brother.

Enid and Radicles may be considered to be faux older siblings to this young hero, but even so, as a Hue Trooper, Red Action _will_ save K.O. from danger.

No matter the cost.

"Listen to me, you monster…" she growled, her eyes as fiery as her hair, "If you want to get to K.O., you'll have to go through me first! I'm not gonna let you have the upper hand on this!"

Red had hoped this could, at least, try to get the mimic to back off, but instead, the mimic only chuckled darkly.

"Foolish human. I'd thought you'd wise up since our last little skirmish behind the plaza. Sadly though, it's too late for retaliation. I will enjoy rendering you _both_ to ash once I'm through you and your little friend…"

K.O. shivered frightfully behind Red Action, unwilling to make any sudden movements out of feat that the mimic will pull a fast one on him and / or Red. Red Action, meanwhile, had an ace up her sleeve. If Gary tasked them to keep the mimic busy, then she has the perfect idea to distract it long enough for Gary to conduct his spell on the mimic.

Red Action looked back at Gary for a split second, noticing that he was close to finding the teleportation spell in his book, and then she looked back at the mimic. Red's serious stare was now replaced with a cocky, wide smirk.

"Oh, do you now?" she asked innocently, "And...pray tell, exactly what _do_ you plan on doing to us then?"

The mimic sniggered with glee, obliviously falling for Red Action's ploy. "So glad you asked." it began, "First off, I'll turn myself into a swarm of wasps and unleash the fury of a thousand stings upon you, leaving you two helpless and way too wracked with pain to save yourselves. Then, once you two writhe on the ground, tending to your wasp stings, I'll shrink myself small enough to enter in through your bloodstreams and I'll tear away at you blood cells, your bones, and your organs, leaving you both to become lifeless husks of dying flesh afterwards. And then, when that process is finished, I cook both your remains up and serve them with fava beans and a nice bottle of Chianti. Ooh-hoo-hoo, it'll be a perfect death I have in store for you, so that you both may suffer like I did after you murdered my friends! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! _HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! __**HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!**_"

K.O. cowered even harder upon hearing such a gruesome, deadly description being directed at him, causing him to whimper like a frightened puppy. Even the hard-as-nails Red Action couldn't help but to stare wide-eyed at what she just heard.

Two certain heroes from the sidelines, meanwhile, managed to slowly recover from getting knocked out in time to listen in on the mimic's horrific-sounding threat, much to their shock and disgust.

"Geez, graphic much?" commented Enid suspiciously, leaning against the forklift she smashed into.

"Yeah, I thought this story was rated for kids!?" objected Rad, pulling out splinters out from his arm after crashing headfirst into some barrels. Red Action shook away her shock long enough to continue stalling the mimic for a little while longer.

"Hmm, really? Not really much of a punishment, if you ask me…" she sneered cockily. The mimic fumed, incredulous to what Red had just said.

"Grr, you really _are_ foolish!" the mimic snapped, "By the time I'm done with you, not even the buzzards will have anything to peck off your decaying corpses for lunch after I get through-"

"_ALIUM SE ORBEM TERRARUM IN PORTA!_"

***SHING!*** ***WHOOOOOOSH!***

The mimic promptly silenced itself on the spot, looking over its shoulder to see something that made the mimic gawk in terror. A massive whirlpool-like vortex had been conjured up by magic, and it was now sucking up objects with its harsh winds, sending them straight through into this mysterious new and far-off world. The mimic's eyes boggled in complete horror.

'_Impossible…_' it gasped to itself. The mimic struggled to find its voice, until it took one long look at Red Action, disbelief and genuine fear laced in its eyes.

"What the...how the..._w-what on Earth did you do, human!?_"

Red Action shot the mimic a victorious smirk.

"It's called a 'distraction', punk. And you just fell for it."

The mimic soon began to panic greatly, especially when the shapeshifter found out that it too was starting to get sucked into the portal! The winds tugged at its body, slowly propelling it towards the swirling vortex. The mimic hardly had time to protect itself, only to look forward at the other heroes. However, there was one certain hero standing a few feet behind Red Action and K.O. that caught the mimic's attention.

It was Gary, with his spell book grasped in his hands.

The mimic began putting two-and-two together; _he_ was the one that conjured this portal. Fear was put aside for now, as rage replenished the mimic once again.

"Wizard! Call off this portal immediately or face my wrath!" ordered the mimic furiously, sticking getting. Gary's response was that of a stern scowl and a blunt message.

"Mimic, you have caused enough turmoil and terror to this plaza for this lifetime. For your crimes against our fair home, I sentence you to be banished from our world permanently, never to return again. May this new dimension be your true home from now on." Gary announced cryptically.

The mimic's mind was in a full state of panic. The once-brave and fearless shapeshifter was now feeling as though it couldn't do anything to save itself at this moment. It tried to run forward to escape, but the vortex was too strong to let the mimic freely run away, render it truly helpless.

Red Action stared down at the mimic as she watched it struggle to break itself free from the portal's windy grasp. Enid and Rad, both beside themselves with silent shock as they witnessed this spectacle unfold. And K.O., still hiding behind Red Action, watched in fear and worry as the mimic, the one who tormented him the most to the point of unleashing T.K.O., was soon ready to meet its demise and be banished from their world for good.

The mimic tried its hardest to escape from the portal's pull, but it really was no use. The mimic tripped forward and landed torso-first on the ground, gripping at the floor to find something to keep from getting pulled through the vortex, though that was also proving to be fruitless as the winds kept dragging the mimic towards the vortex.

As the mimic clawed helplessly on the ground, it began screaming in utter fury at its foes as it was soon ready to be transported away from their world, though its final message was aimed moreso for K.O. than anyone else.

"You think you've won, you little twerp!? Once I find my way back to your world, I shall ensure that you, your worthless friends, and this pitiful plaza will meet its inevitable demise soon enough! And I will not let the likes of _you_ stop me once again! _Do you hear me, you murderer!?_ _I SHALL PREVAIL! __**I WILL BE AVENGED!**_"

But unfortunately, the mimic's declaration was soon cut short as it lost its grip and before long, the mimic felt itself getting sucked into the portal, the vortex' gravitational pull sending the screaming mimic flying off into another dimension that was far away from this one. The mimic's screams echoed everywhere until…

***POOF!***

...the portal disappeared in a flash, with the mimic gone forever.

The dust soon settled and complete, deafening silence followed soon after. Nobody had the ability to say anything after what had just happened, and quite frankly, none of them cared to say anything anyways. The mimic was finally gone, and they had won.

Gary heaved a great sigh, putting down his book after having just used up a great portion of his magical energy to conjure up his portal. Exhausted, though satisfied that the ordeal was done, he leaned against a nearby crate to catch his breath, thankful that the evil-doer was out of this world.

Red Action, meanwhile, looked down at the shell-shocked boy that was still clutching onto her leg. She gasped lightly. "K.O.?" she panted, "A-Are you okay?"

K.O. shivered for a split second, letting everything he had just seen before him sick into his mind: seeing the mimic get teleported away from his world, as well as hearing it scream its last words directly at him. K.O. swallowed thickly, too frightened to even look up into Red's eyes.

"...Y-Yeah...I-I think s-so…" was all that he could say. Red Action exhaled and gave K.O. a pitying look; today _really_ wasn't his day. Before she could do anything, a familiar and rough-sounding voice groaned out from beneath a heap of fallen boxes nearby.

"Ugh...oh, my head…"

Rad and Enid gasped from their individual spots in the stocking room; they knew that voice well.

"Mr. Gar!" they cried out.

The two teens immediately rushed over to help out their boss, who had just awakened from his temporarily unconscious state. They dug him out from the pile of boxes and, with a lot of effort, they both hoisted him up and let him rest on their shoulders as Mr. Gar slowly drifted back into the conscious world once again. He groaned and coughed heavily, his shirtless torso covered with scratches and scuffs and his signature sunglasses askew and cracked..

"Ugh...w-what just happened? Where's that lousy mimic?" slurred out Mr. Gar. Gary walked over and gave the burly man a reassured grin.

"No worries, Eugene. I took care of it. I managed to send that fella to another dimension far away from ours. That thing won't be a threat to us anymore." explained Gary assuringly. Mr. Gar slowly regained his composure

"Oh...well...g-good job, Gary. Excellent strategy." he stated, rubbing his throbbing, pained head. K.O. looked up at his boss with worried eyes.

"Are y-you okay, Mr. Gar?" he asked, finally managing to speak up as he carefully managed to lose go of Red Action's leg, whom in question was still looking at the boy with concern. Mr. Gar groaned lowly.

"Ugh, yeah...I'm okay, kid." he assured with a half-smile, "Darn mimic really knows how to throw a punch. Still though, you all did a good job on keeping that thing at bay so Gary could dispose of it."

Everyone smiled softly at Mr. Gar's compliment, though due to today's taxing events, the other heroes were still too tired and weak to even think about celebrating. Rad then looked over to Gary and raised an eyebrow.

"So, ya sure the mimic is stuck in this dimension?" he asked curiously and cautiously. Gary nodded.

"Positive. It's sealed shut like Pandora's Box." confirmed Gary. Red Action sighed, dusting herself off.

"Yeah...I hope so…" she said, "though, I feel as though we could've just done this dimension portal tactic earlier and got this done and over with." Gary raised an eyebrow at Red.

"Dimension magic is way more intense and power-consuming than making ice magic. I had to summon all my strength to make sure that this mimic was shunned far away from our world for good." he explained civilly. K.O. tilted his head up to Gary, a somewhat-frenzied expression glazing across his face.

"But, Mr. Gary, sir?" K.O. piped up, "What if the mimic manages to come back to our world and tries to cause more trouble again!?" Gary simply knelt down and gave K.O. a reassuring, soft grin. He ruffled the boy's thick hair affectionately.

"Eh, no need to worry, little tyke." assured Gary casually, "That wazzock ain't gonna be a bother anytime soon...especially since that dimension I trapped it in is beyond far away from our world.." Gary then shot the boy a knowing wink. Red Action gave Gary a curious look.

"Sooo...what exactly is this dimension that you sent that punk off to, anyways?" she asked, confused. Gary smiled wearily.

"Oh, just something off the grid…all I know is that the mimic will certainly feel at home in this new dimension…" he mused wryly, giving Red Action a sly wink. Red still looked confused, even as Enid and Rad then stepped up and each gave Gary grateful and relieved smiles.

"Gary, thanks so much for helping us out, man." Enid smiled courteously, giving Gary a handshake in thanks, "You really got us out of a real pickle with your magic." Radicles nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, dude. Is there any way we can repay you?" he asked kindly. Gary smiled appreciatively at the offer.

"Aw, it was no trouble, guys. But, nah, no need to worry about repaying me. Frankly, the fact we're lucky to still be alive is good enough for me…" chuckled Gary, politely declining his friends' kind proposal. Enid and Rad chuckled in return, albeit awkwardly and weakly.

"Heh-heh...yeah…" uttered Enid, nervously. Mr. Gar then walked up and placed a proud hand around Gary's shoulder, beaming broadly down at him.

"Your services helped us out greatly, old friend." thanked Mr. Gar with pride, "Without you, Lakewood Plaza would be under siege to that shapeshifting menace." Gary smiled humbly and chuckled softly up at the muscular bodega owner..

"Just doin' what needs to be done, boss." he replied honestly, "Guess it beats lounging alone around the stockroom 24/7 after all." Mr. Gar chuckled deeply.

"I suppose so...you really should step out from that back room to visit us once in a while." he offered, "Get some time away from guarding that area all the time." Gary politely shook his head, his smile never leaving his face.

"Sorry, Eugene, but a stockroom wizard's work is never done, no matter what happens." he insisted, before he gained a more thoughtful expression.

"Although…" he mused, "I suppose going on holiday for a wee bit wouldn't hurt one of these days. I _have_ been meaning to visit some family in Goblin Country for a while now." Then, Gary let out a tired yawn and stretched his arms, as he was ready to cap off today's events with a little, much-needed rest. He kept his tome of spells clutched protectively under his arms and gave the group of heroes a friendly grin in farewell.

"Well, mates, it's been a blast, but I gotta get back to guarding the back room as usual. You never know what other crazy creeps may be lurking back there that need smiting…" explained Gary, waving goodbye to his friends as he was ready to head back to his usual domain, "Hope you guys can manage everything else in the meantime, though!"

"Don't worry, we will. Farewell, old friend!" rumbled Mr. Gar with a soft smile, as the others soon followed suit with their own goodbyes, too.

"Nice seein' ya again, Gary!" called Rad.

"Come by and visit us soon, if you can!" offered Enid.

"Thanks again for all the help, dude!" praised Red Action.

K.O., still succumbed into silence, managed to, at least, wave goodbye to Gary alongside his friends as the goblin wizard headed off, a small smile creeping up on the boy's face all the while. However, as Gary had finally exited the area into the deep, dark recesses of the stockroom, back to where he normally kept watch of any other creatures and monsters, K.O. felt his smile droop down into a small, sad frown.

As this happened, Red Action was the first to catch her little friend's change in tune. She craned her head down to where he was before she knelt down to his eye level.

"Hey...K.O.? You okay, bud?" she asked, concerned. Mr. Gar, Rad, and Enid each looked down at K.O. as well, all looking as worried as Red was. K.O. let out a pitiful, shaky sigh, his face still quite downcast. He hadn't even bothered to look back at Red Action even as she was trying to console him.

"...Y-Yeah...s-sure, Red...I guess…" was all that K.O. was able to say at that moment.

However, K.O. suddenly felt his eyes automatically and instantly leak with tears, as the weight of today's occurrences had finally weighed down on him, from turning T.K.O. to being subjected to the mimic

Red Action, fully understanding the boy's plight, instinctively pulled K.O. into a tight, warm, sisterly hug, as a means to try and give him comfort after having such an unpleasant day. And, to no one's surprise, K.O. immediately returned the hug, burying his head into Red's left shoulder. He let out a few more sobs, letting his tears pitter-patter on Red's armor, with the Hue Trooper not minding in the slightest.

"It's okay, kid...just let it out." she cooed, patting K.O.'s back comfortingly, "That monster's gone now...it won't hurt us ever again…"

K.O. didn't reply. He didn't need to, however; all he did was simply allow himself to continue sobbing his poor heart out, slowly being able to calm himself down after enduring through such a rough day.

And then soon enough, one by one, K.O. and Red Action weren't the only ones partaking in the hug. First, Enid walked over and embraced both Red and K.O. lovingly. Next, Radicles came over and joined in. And lastly, Mr. Gar hunched over and wrapped his beefy, massive arms around all four heroes, ensnaring them in the biggest hug he'd ever given anyone before.

Nothing else was said or done between the five heroes as they continued their quiet group hug, and in all fairness, they had nothing else to say anyways. Today was so taxing that everyone just needed to recuperate long enough to ease themselves into a silent, calming, wave of relief and comfort. The hug would have lasted for the remainder of the day if they wanted it to, but sadly, they had other things to attend to.

As the five heroes carefully released each other from their hug, Mr. Gar let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his forehead as he went over to the door that led into the bodega's store area and opened it to peek out. Through the store's large windows, Mr. Gar could spy some heroes outside of the bodega, all working hard together in cleaning and repairing the utter mess the mimic had left behind. Slumping his broad shoulders, Mr. Gar turned back to the group of heroes behind him and let out another sigh.

"Come on, everyone...we better get the bodega cleaned up right now...we all gotta pitch in to make sure that Lakewood Plaza is looking ship-shape and I'll need everyone's help here."

Mr. Gar's unusually soft-sounding voice broke everybody else out from their mild trances, as they all realized that he was right; the plaza _was_ in need of repair and cleaning up, and everyone had to pitch in.

"Uh, yes, sir, boss."

"Gotcha, Mr. G."

"Yeah, sure thing, Mr. Gar…"

Radicles, Enid, and Red Action carefully followed Mr. Gar out from the stockroom and back to the main part of the store, all ready to get some cleaning done. As the three teens and their muscular supervisor left the room, one certain member of the group didn't seem too keen to follow them right away. The boy simply stood there in silence, mulling over what had occurred to the mimic mere minutes ago.

K.O. twiddled his index fingers and looked down at his bare feet, a look of concern laced across his face. Was it fair that the mimic just _had_ to be thrown into another dimension as a punishment? Granted, the chaos the mimic brought to Lakewood Plaza _was_ indeed treacherous and uncalled for, but to be banished from your home forever? That seemed harsh in a sense, though K.O. admitted it was better than, Cob forbid, the death penalty.

In addition to all that, K.O. couldn't help but to think about something else that troubled him: was what the mimic had told him true? Was he, in reality, a murderer as the mimic kept telling him?

K.O. knew deep down he wasn't really a killer; sure, he got in many power battles against various villains and evil-doers, but he still knew the difference between right and wrong. However, _that_ wasn't actually what was bothering him.

It was the fact that, throughout the whole day as he kept fighting against the mimic, the shapeshifter's harsh and biting words had belittled him to the point to where K.O. felt nothing but fear. The kind of fear where a young child is left by himself, without the aid of a parent or a friend to help him out.

The kind of fear where you felt truly alone and helpless.

As far as K.O. knew, all heroes weren't meant to be brave, unafraid of what would come their way. Every day, K.O. was surrounded by such great, aspiring heroes that were just as brave as he hoped to be. Maybe even braver. His boss, Mr. Gar, was brave. His best friends, Enid and Rad, were brave. Gary the stockroom wizard was brave. Even Chip Damage, the formerly-amazing hero he once worshipped to death until it was revealed he was a robotic fraud, was supremely brave, too.

Above all, Red Action, one of the members of the elusive, futuristic, and legendary Hue Troop was one of the most bravest heroes K.O. had the honor of meeting.

Throughout all of this, even when he was forcibly transformed into T.K.O., Red Action had been trying her best to protect K.O. (as well as his other friends in the plaza) from the mimic's wrath, and even after a few setbacks, she still kept going on strong, willing to do whatever it took to keep Lakewood Plaza safe. K.O. aspired to be as brave as Red Action was today, but alas, that proved to be all for naught as the poor boy was feeling more like a coward instead of a true hero at the moment.

K.O. looked up to all plenty of heroes day-in / day-out around the plaza, and to be disparaged by the mimic throughout today by being a "murderous weakling", it was enough to put a dent on K.O.'s self-esteem. Every day, K.O. trains hard and tries his best to become the great hero he always imagined he was, always there to put his life on the line to save others from tyranny. But after today's events, K.O. wasn't totally sure if he actually _had_ the will to try and achieve that goal.

In the end, was it all a pipe dream, though? Can a weak, scared child like him even become a hero when he can't even help goad a bad guy into switching sides? Not even his pleas and speeches of civility were enough to convince the mimic to become a hero; instead, it only made the mimic angrier by the second.

K.O. felt as though his world felt a little bit darker, heaving a great sigh as he stood alone in the stockroom's lobby, with only his thoughts being beside him.

"K.O.? You comin', lil' buddy?"

K.O. snapped out of his thoughts long enough to see Radicles peeking his head behind the open door leading into the store lobby, an uncharacteristically-concerned expression spread across his blue face. K.O. blinked twice, trying to process his surroundings until he was able to get control of his own emotions and motor skills again.

"Oh, uh, y-yeah...sure thing, Rad…"

And with that, K.O. slowly limped his way out of the stockroom to follow Rad and join his friends in tidying up the bodega from the mimic's earlier attacks. But as he and Rad headed off to get some cleaning done with the others, poor K.O. was still beside himself with grief as the mimic's rude remarks keep echoing in his mind relentlessly.

Although he didn't truly believe the mimic calling him a "murderer" was accurate, the insults still brought sorrow and despondency into his heart, mind, and soul, making K.O. wish that he wasn't such a scaredy cat. On top of that, his failed try and coax the mimic to the side of good wasn't helping in the slightest. K.O. tried not to let these doubting thoughts plague his mind, as he hoped to just get some cleaning as a means to get his mind off of today, but even so, today's events have been nothing but discouraging and exhausting for him and for his friends.

Overall, today was simply one of the most eventful days that Lakewood Plaza has experienced in a while, indeed.

**TO BE CONCLUDED...**

* * *

**So, uh, pretty heavy chapter that we've ended on, huh?**

**So, first things first, as usual, I have to apologize for the lateness of this chapter (again), as the Christmas and New Year season have really been busy for me, what with spending the holidays with my family and friends and having to work extra days at my job to ensure the casino I work at will stay clean (which never lasts long, tbh, but still). **

**With it being both the new year and the new decade, I'm hoping to continue writing more stories under my belt for 2020, with those stories being more OK K.O. and Gravity Falls stories, along with other new additions to be made soon, being another new Amphibia story, another Ed, Edd, n Eddy story, and (hopefully) a new Transformers story based upon the somewhat-recent Bumblebee movie from 2018. **

**Anywho, this story itself shall be completely wrapped up soon enough. We have an epilogue coming very shortly (and by shortly, I don't mean it'll take two or three months to get here, I'll assure you of that), and it'll basically reveal on what specific dimension the mimic may have been trapped in and how K.O. will be coping throughout this whole ordeal after getting lashed so harshly by the mimic.**

**So, tune in very soon, where the actual, true conclusion to "Doppelganger Among Us" shall soon be upon us, so keep an eye out for our epilogue, "Peace at the Plaza", when it comes up this month. Until then, thanks again for reading and apologies once more for making any of you wait for the story's official end.**

**~Thunderbyrd**


	9. Epilogue: Peace at the Plaza

**And so, the epilogue has surfaced, ladies and germs! :D**

**Between dealing with work, family life, socializing with friends, and trying to stave off an on-going virus that's currently spreading across the world, 2020's proving to be hectic so far, but at least for now, I can at least finish up this story and focus more attention on any stories to start and / or finish for this year. :)**

**So, last chapter, the mimic has finally been vested and has been transported to another unknown-as-of-now world, all thanks to Gary. However, I'm sorry to say that the damage was still done, thanks to the mimic mentally-scarring K.O. by basically calling him a "murderous weakling" for what he, Enid, and Rad did to its friends.**

**Will this be an actual ending? Will K.O. be assured that he is a good hero at heart? Where has the mimic gone to? Let's check out this final chapter and find out! ;)**

**OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes is owned by Ian Jones-Quartey and Cartoon Network. (I do not own any of its characters nor its properties. This is purely a non-profit fanfic made for fun).**

* * *

**DOPPELGANGERS AMONG US**

**EPILOGUE: PEACE AT THE PLAZA**

Slowly, but surely, everything at Lakewood Plaza Turbo was starting to turn back to normal by now. Each hero involved in today's events all worked together to make sure that the plaza was looking spin and span again, cleaning up all the rubble and debris that the mimic may have caused during its reign of terror. There were plenty of things to clean up and fix at the plaza right now, which meant that everyone had to work as a team to ensure that Lakewood Plaza would be running ship-shape once again.

Real Magic Skeleton and Brandon worked on tidying and straightening everything up inside the iFrame Outlet, as well as making sure that their boss, Sir eFram iFrame, who had been passed out for a long time during the events of this whole afternoon, was still holding up okay. Luckily, Sir iFrame was alive, though he was still thoroughly confused and dazed.

Beardo, who had also been unconscious upon seeing his beloved food truck destroyed during a mimic attack, was currently being tended to by Ms. Mummy, as to make sure he was safe, too. He was indeed safe, though the sorry state of his food truck crushed his soul to bits.

Colewort and Potato helped clean up the inside of Mr. Logic's barbershop, while the robotic barber in question was busy calling a window repair company to see to it about getting a new window replacement for his place of work.

Chameleon Jr. assisted in helping Drupe to see if anything in the coffee shop may need cleaning, while Joff and Nick Army helped to tidy away the mess left in the small field behind the bodega, where the mimic was busy fighting Red Action earlier today, as they swept up any blown-up clumps of dirt, glass, and earth away from the area.

And lastly, Punching Judy had soon called up for Teamster, a Level 5 construction worker hero with self-cloning abilities, on her phone to see if he could come over to help with properly repairing the collateral damage inflicted at the plaza, such as smashed-up buildings and the busted-up parking lot pavement.

Overall, it was tiring, rough work for everyone, but in spite of this, as they all worked together like a well-oiled machine, the plaza would soon look as good as new again with their combined assistance, as if a mimic had never attacked their plaza to begin with.

Although the atmosphere outside was filled with hope and good tidings, the same couldn't be said for the employees and patrons that were inside Mr. Gar's Bodega and Hero Supply.

As Mr. Gar, Enid, Radicles, Red Action, and K.O. were all busily cleaning up the mess inside the interior of the store, caused by the mimic, a silent, awkward aura had hung above them all. No one was sure what to say to each other, especially since their interrogation with the mimic wound up ending with the shapeshifter dropping such a massive truth bomb upon them all.

Evidently, the day's events have taken quite a toll on everyone, and for all good reasons, too.

Having dealt with the troublesome mimic all day, K.O. and his friends hardly had the strength to carry a simple conversation amongst them, and even so, none of them felt the real need to conversate anyways after enduring such an exhausting, soul-crushing day. As of now, all these heroes wanted to do was just spruce up the plaza so that everything can be back to normal soon.

Hopefully.

***BING-BONG!***

Just then, before anything else can happen, a middle-aged woman with tall, blonde hair and a purple jumpsuit came sprinting into the bodega, looking clearly and understandably worried.

"Oh, my Cob…*pant-pant*...I arrived as soon as I got the call! Is everyone okay!?" gasped Carol, her face sweating and her eyes wide with fear. Everyone in the bodega then noticed the matriarch of their little friend, K.O., suddenly barge into the store, all confused and concerned at the woman's distressed expression. Mr. Gar nodded, going over to console his long-time partner-turned-crush-turned-girlfriend.

"Everything's fine now, Carol. Don't worry, nobody got hurt." he assured softly, reaching out to grab her hand consolingly. Carol breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Phew...oh, sweet mother of Corn, good...that's good…" she gasped, slowly starting to feel less frantic. However, once she saw K.O. sadly mopping and standing a few inches away, she wasted no time dashing over to envelope him into a tight, protective, loving hug. She skidded over and knelt down, giving K.O. a tight, motherly embrace as her emotions began fluctuating once again.

"Ohh, my sweet lil' peanut!" cried Carol, squeezing her son close to her, "A-Are you okay? Did that mimic try to hurt you? What happened!?"

Rad and Enid could see that Carol was looking quite frazzled throughout all this, and understandably so, considering that her own son had wound up tussling with a sneaky, overpowered mimic just moments ago. As Carol clutched the quiet, contemplating K.O. in her thick arms, Radicles raised his index finger and used his telekinesis powers to levitate a glass of water from afar, bringing the glass into his hands before he carefully presented it to Carol.

"Here, Carol. You look parched…" he offered kindly. Carol gasped and managed to give Rad a thankful smile as she greedily snatched the glass from his hand and then chugged the water down in order to keep from passing out from exhaustion.

However, as Carol kept drinking from her glass, K.O., who was still silent and miserable, cautiously looked up at his mother with big, sad eyes. Something was still plaguing the boy's mind regarding his encounter with the mimic and he needed to ask his mom a question about the matter.

"M-Mom?" K.O. began, carefully, "Am I a good hero?"

Carol immediately coughed out her drink of water, wheezing and gasping in surprise from being asked such a bombshell of a question. She gazed at her only son with utter dumbfoundedness.

"Wh-What!?" she gawked, barely having time to compose. K.O.'s other, older friends looked back at him with equal shock.

"K.O.? What're you talking about?" asked Enid worriedly. Rad sidled alongside her.

"Yeah, little dude. Why would you think you weren't a good hero?" he queried confusedly. K.O. sighed sadly within his mother's hug.

"Because I failed to help the mimic change from evil to good...and the fact that...th-that...well…" K.O. trembled like a sickly leaf, too embarrassed to properly explain why he felt like such a poor hero. Carol tried her best to coax her son to speak up.

"'Well', what, sweetie? Please tell us…" she cooed, growing more worried by the second.

K.O. quavered, feeling very much ashamed to even speak up, but he knew he had to come clean. He took in a deep breath of air and exhaled, as to calm his troubled mind.

"The fact that I was scared…"

The statement came out softly, like the coo of a baby dove. However, it was still heard among his friends and family very clearly, as evident by their concerned, confused faces.

"'Scared?'" repeated Radicles, raising a worried eyebrow. K.O. nodded feebly in silence. Enid's eyes glistened with sadness.

"K.O., why would you think you wouldn't be a good hero because you got scared?" she asked worriedly. K.O. frowned deeply.

"Because I'm supposed to be a true hero. Heroes are _supposed_ to be brave and daring, not weak scaredy-cats. How can I grow up to be a great hero like you guys if I get scared?" explained K.O. as logically as he could be. The others looked at K.O. with upset, teary-eyed expressions, with Carol in particular looking devastated to hear such negativity pour out from her otherwise-upbeat and positive-minded son.

"Ohh, peanut…" she cooed sadly, caressing her son's face with the loving gentleness that a mother could only give to her child, "There's nothing wrong about being scared. Many heroes get scared once in a while." she tried to reassure, though K.O. still seemed unsure.

"But...I'm supposed to grow up to be a great hero like Mr. Gar or Red Action. They aren't scared of anything and they are amazing heroes. How can I be seen as a true hero if I get scared all the time?" he moped, hanging his head down.

Carol frowned deeply, her eyes shining sadly as she nearly felt the need to cry herself. Enid and Rad gazed down at their little friend with equal amounts of concern and sadness as well, whereas Mr. Gar looked at the mother / son duo silently, though thoughtfully, too. However, one other hero had the will to step up and reassure the saddened boy in her own way.

"K.O.?"

K.O. looked up as the red-colored, future-hopping hero known as Red Action walked up to him and knelt down next to him. Her eyes harnessed a warm, calm, and sisterly aura that K.O. had very rarely seen before in the Hue Trooper's features. Red took in a breath and spoke softly down at the boy, gingerly and without pause.

"Kid, I want you to forget that whole junk about great heroes never being afraid of anything...because that's all wrong." she started, sounding almost stern, but with her composure still in check, "Every hero can be scared, whether in battle or not. Heck, even _I_ can be scared sometimes, too, you know?"

K.O. had to do a double take after hearing that. "_You!?_" he gasped, "B-B-But, Red, you're part of the Hue Troop. You're one of the bravest heroes I ever met! Why could you ever be scared!?"

Red tried to muster up a small smile. "Because...well...I guess I care too much about my friends, is all…"

K.O. seemed puzzled at first, before Red Action continued. "I may be a member of the Hue Troop, kiddo, but even we Troopers can be prone to feeling afraid sometimes. Even Yellow Technique can feel scared at times, too, like if my teammates and I were in danger. We mainly feel scared because we don't want to lose each other; we care for each other like family, much like how I care for you and your friends here."

She then looked towards Enid, giving her a subtle smile. "I'd honestly be devastated and scared helpless if something happened to my friends…" she replied softly. Enid blushed and looked away shyly, fiddling with her hair, but smiling sweetly at her crush nonetheless. Red turned back to K.O..

"So, listen, K.O., it's perfectly fine to be scared once in a while, but you should also not let fear consume you, too. All it takes is a little love, courage, dedication, and determination to help you win a fight...to help protect those you love...do you understand, kid?"

K.O. drank in all of those meaningful words that Red Action had said directly to him, his mind taking in everything what has happened today as to recap his experiences going up against the mimic: chasing the mimic around the plaza as it made a mess of the stores and shops, battling the mimic behind the bodega with Red Action and RMS, turning into T.K.O. and turning the tides against the mimic for a short while, stopping the mimic from obliterating the plaza as a giant octopus, and finally, trying to interrogate the mimic and even hope to get it to become a true hero, with it all ending with Gary transporting the mimic to another dimension. After seconds of thinking and silence, K.O. gazed back up at Red Action, his eyes glimmering with curiosity.

"So...even you were scared when that mimic went and fought against you today?" he asked quietly and innocently. Red smiled reassuringly.

"Admittedly... , even." she stated truthfully, remembering how she was nearly cornered and was seconds away from being gutted by their shapeshifting villain, before she shook that memory away and turned her attention back to the boy, "But, you should also know that that mimic was nothing but a taunting jerk. You are not at fault for harming its friends long ago, and neither are your friends. It's all in the past now."

K.O. took the time to let Red's words sink in, allowing her wise, sensible statement to flow through him, until after a few more seconds of patient thinking, K.O. sighed and wiped away another tear forming in his eye.

"I guess you're right…" he finally deduced, "I guess there wasn't much we could do when fighting against those other mimics months ago…" However, something else seemed to plague K.O.'s mind at the moment.

"But...there is one more thing that's kinda troubling me…" he admitted. His friends and family looked on in worry.

"What would that be, sweetheart?" Carol asked, hushed, yet tenderly. K.O. sighed heavily, his eyes casting downward.

"Ahh...I dunno...something in me thought I could try and get that mimic to become a hero instead of a villain, but I guess that wasn't gonna work out, huh?" he said, dejectedly, "I was really hoping I could sway it to steer away from villainy…hmm, it was probably a stupid idea to think I could've made the mimic a hero, anyways..."

Carol and the three teens gazed sadly and sympathetically at the boy, understanding his motives to try and make the mimic see good instead of evil, even though it ended sourly than expected. Mr. Gar, who has been silent throughout most of the conversation, aimed his sights at K.O. and spoke in a low, stern, yet gentle-sounding tone.

"K.O., you shouldn't think so negatively of your actions. The nobility of your idea was indeed true and well-meaning, though it would've seemed our mimic foe wasn't willing to see the light. Still, K.O., your attempts to teach that mimic the benefits of being a real hero were noble and brave, even when it didn't go as planned...you should never be upset for sticking to what you believe in."

K.O. felt a tingly blush spread across his face, with a miniscule smile just barely being able to appear on his face as well. Hearing that slowly made the boy feel a bit better, that is, until Mr. Gar continued to speak, this time with a more heavier, somber voice.

"Though, as sad as it may seem, although villains are certainly applicable to change for the better, doesn't mean that they are _willing_ to do as such in the end. Some villains would prefer to stay as villains. Many heroes can try and sway them, but sometimes, it'll only end in rejection and we may just have to accept it. And if things go out of hand afterwards, we would also have to properly discipline them as well."

K.O. gulped a thick lump in his throat at that last brutal, but realistic-sounding part. The others deflated with sadness as well, as Mr. Gar continued on.

"Even so," he went on, trying to sound more uplifting, "Whether or not you succeed in reverting a villain to become a hero, you still attempted to help change a villain for the better. The very idea of spreading forgiveness to others should be cherished on its own…"

Mr. Gar then stepped forwards, kneeling down in front of K.O., who in question looked up at the muscular bodega boss with big, surprised, glossy eyes. Even through his thick sunglasses, K.O. could see a warm, fatherly glint within the man's eyes as Mr. Gar slowly placed a hand on the boy's shivering shoulder.

"What I'm saying is that, you, K.O., are one of the noblest, kindest heroes I've ever met in my life. You're always willing to help and look out for others, regardless of what the situation is. And you always see the good in everyone."

Mr. Gar's words couldn't have been said with so much pride even if he tried. Hearing such calm and caring adulation caused K.O. to blush and quiver with surprise, his sadness slowly evaporating.

"You really think that, Mr. Gar?" he squeaked, tears still welling up in his eyes. Mr. Gar smiled his most proudest, broadest smile down at his young employee.

"I don't _think_...I _know_…" he assured softly, "and I couldn't be anymore grateful to have you as a member of my bodega crew."

K.O. shivered once more, not out of fear, but out of amazement instead. Receiving praise from Mr. Gar isn't usually a rare feat, but when it does happen, K.O. couldn't help but to feel so much pride and joy fill up inside his heart every time. It made him feel like a true hero, like the one he always aspired to be. Carol smiled sweetly down at her son.

"Not only that…" she added, "but you also make me incredibly grateful to have you as a son." K.O.'s cheeks blushed red as Carol leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. Enid and Radicles stepped up next, giving the boy each caring, soft smiles.

"And we're just as grateful to have you as our friend…" replied Enid kindly, her tone filled with sisterly love. Rad beamed and nodded.

"For as long as we'll live." he confirmed. Red Action then gave K.O. a thumbs-up.

"Heck yeah, lil' dude…" she said, "besides, for a kid, you got real guts to spar up against a mimic like that...as far as I know, you're just as brave as a Hue Trooper…"

By now, as if his sadness had completely evaporated like magic, K.O.'s smile couldn't have been any wider and brighter upon hearing such adulation from Red Action of all heroes. "You really mean that?" he squeaked, almost teetering on fanboy-mode by now. Red smirked and shot him a wink.

"Absolutely, kid. And listen…" she continued, now speaking in a softer, sincere tone, "don't let whatever that dumb mimic said to you bother you, okay? That jerk was only trying to psych you out, just to get you even more scared or angry and it could have the upper hand. Right now, you just worry about you, okay, bro?"

It was Red Action's rarely-seen tender smile that caused K.O. to let out a choked-up sob, as he unexpectedly jumped forwards and gave her a tight, grateful embrace in return. The boy sobbed and sniffled in her toned torso, a bright smile spreading across his blushing face.

"I will...thanks for being my friend, Red…" he cooed softly, clutching against Red's stomach as lovingly as he can muster. Red Action smiled warmly and returned the hug without hesitation, patting his thick, tall hair comfortingly.

"Anytime, little bro…" she hummed. And then, without warning, K.O. and Red Action soon felt themselves getting caught in another hug as well, as Carol joined in on their embrace, too. Not only that, but soon Rad, Enid, and even Mr. Gar followed suit as well, allowing the six heroes to blissfully partake in their group hug and to let relief shower them after a long day of fighting and battling inner demons.

"Ohh, we're so proud of you, K.O.." whispered Carol adoringly, giving her son another kiss on his face. Rad grinned softly.

"Just remember, little bro." put in Radicles, "You're never alone when you have us around." K.O. sighed happily, sniffling back a few tears as he let the group hug envelope him without any trouble.

"Yeah, I guess you're right...who knows what would've happened if you guys hadn't helped me." K.O. confessed shyly. Enid shot K.O. her warmest smile yet.

"We're friends, K.O.. We always look out for each other." she confided sweetly. Mr. Gar nodded proudly.

"Whether they are in trouble or not." he added with a bold grin as the group's embrace soon disbanded within a few seconds. Red Action smiled along with them, though her face soon glistened with concern.

"Don't ya guys think we should try and find a way to make sure this T.K.O. guy won't pop up again, though?" she asked, "What if he comes back and goes berserk like earlier?" K.O. looked up and flashed Red a small smile of his own.

"Eh, T.K.O.'s not _so_ bad once you keep him in check. Plus, I don't think he's _truly_ mean...just a little misunderstood, is all." K.O. assured coyly, patting his head lovingly as to prove his statement correct. The grouchy voice inside his head, meanwhile, thought differently.

"**Ahh, shut up…**" groused T.K.O. from within his mind, still bitter about not having been able to defeat the mimic in his own way from earlier.

Red Action sighed softly, just before she gently placed her right hand on K.O.'s shoulder. She looked down at the boy with a

"Well, listen, dude...I may not know much about this T.K.O. guy, but just be sure to keep an eye on him, okay? We can't risk another power battle like that to happen to this plaza, again. Promise?" she asked cautiously. K.O. gave her a hearty thumbs-up.

"I will." he promised, before his expression grew thoughtful, "Hmm...I just wonder what kind of dimension Gary sent that mimic off to, anyways…?" mused K.O. to no one in particular. Red Action sighed and flashed the boy a grin.

"Well, so long as that thing is far away from here, I ain't gonna complain…" she snarked playfully, thankful that things were soon back to normal.

And sure enough, everyone else in the bodega wholeheartedly agreed.

* * *

The mimic groaned, pained as it felt surges of discomfort course through its body. The mimic was stuck lying down on a flat surface, crumpled up in a ball as it writhed in mild pain. Luckily, mimics were relatively quick healers, so whatever harm that Radicles has inflicted on it earlier during the alien's fury-laden rampage had been mostly healed up by now.

The mimic seethed and groaned loudly, hunched on its side on the grassy-like ground, its mind fluttering with angry thoughts after recounting today's tiresome events. Once again, it seems that the mimic has lost again...and by the looks of it, the heroes of Lakwood Plaza Turbo had came out victorious.

'_Lousy Lakewood heroes...worthless humans…' _the mimic groused internally, '_Grrrr, once I find my way back home, I'll be sure to-_'

"Hey, you...hey, buddy…"

"You okay there?"

A pair of unfamiliar voices soon rang inside the mimic's eardrums, startling and confusing it greatly. The mimic soon managed to sit back up from the ground, trying to force its vision to clear up as quickly as possible. Once the mimic managed to adjust its eyesight back to normal, the shapeshifting menace was floored to discover who was exactly speaking to it.

Two other mimics with basic humanoid forms stood before it. The mimic from K.O.'s world gasped in shock; was it dreaming? Was it really seeing other members of its kind right before it right at this moment? It seemed almost too good to be true.

One mimic standing before the pink mimic had sky blue skin and the second had lime green skin. Each had yellow-ish eyes and teeth, a distinct feature in all mimics. The pink mimic felt its breathing stall for a second, stunned at what it was looking at.

"...Wh-What...happened…?" it rasped. The blue-skinned mimic exhaled in relief, its concern washing away.

"Oh, thank goodness...you're alive." it breathed, "We found you lying here on the ground and it looked like you were in pain."

"Yeah, we just wanted to see if you were fine." added the green mimic worriedly.

The pink mimic brushed itself off and slowly stood back up on its feet, trying to get its bearings straight. As the mimic wobbled a bit, trying to keep its balance straightened after enduring its dimensional trek, it also took a chance to take in its surroundings. Right now, the three mimics were standing in a clear, grassy field with a few trees grown around in the area. The sky was bright yellow, with only a few clouds scattered across the horizon. This new world didn't seem much different than K.O.'s own world, which made the mimic rather baffled, to say the least.

"Th-this can't be possible...wh-where am I?" the pink mimic stammered, still wrought with disbelief. The blue mimic chuckled.

"Why, you're in the Land of the Mimics, friend!" it greeted in a proud voice. The pink mimic's eyes widened with shock.

"Land...of the...Mimics…?" it echoed, taken aback by this. Now, it _really_ seemed too good to be true. The green mimic smiled.

"Yep, a land of only mimics, where we all just reside, frolic, and do whatever we want with no one to bring us any harm." the green mimic explained. The pink mimic was awestruck and silent, intrigued and amazed to learn that such a world exists. A world purely inhabited of mimics and only mimics.

Just then, the trio of shapeshifters spotted a red bird soaring across the sky, fluttering and flapping all around the three as it then landed onto a nearby tree branch above them. The bird hopped in place on the branch, until a deafening noise roared across the skies above them.

***WHOOOOOSH!***

A quartet of jet planes flew high in the sky above, each jet a different color from each other. The bird watched the jets soar above with interest, until then, after flying off of the branch, the bird soon began to glow brightly and slowly morph into a new body. Soon, after a few seconds of glowing, the bird was now transformed into a jet as well, as it soon joined the other jets soaring high above, making the quarted become a quintet as the jets whooshed far across the horizons.

The pink mimic gazed in wonder. "So...this world is only populated by mimics, then?" it asked carefully. The green mimic nodded and smiled.

"Yep, nice little place, too. I reckon you ain't from these parts?" it asked. The pink mimic groaned and frowned awkwardly.

"Well...hard to believe, but...I'm from another world, to be truthful. A world that housed many heroes, whether they were humans, aliens, mummies, wizards...and everything in-between. And well...let's say that mimics in that world aren't exactly well-liked, to be honest." explained the shapeshifter, causing the other two newcomers to wince and gasp.

"Oof, that bad, huh?" uttered the blue mimic softly. The pink mimic nodded and couldn't help but to scowl to itself.

"Indeed...I even managed to lose some of my own friends, thanks to some of those pesky 'heroes', too…" it growled bitterly. The blue and green mimics gasped, horrified.

"Oh, dude...that's awful…" said the blue mimic.

"Yeah...we're really sorry that happened to you…" sighed the green mimic sadly. The pink mimic exhaled coarsely.

"It's fine…" it huffed, "Not like it can be helped anymore…" The pink mimic still growled to itself, still resentful towards not being able to finish off K.O., his friends, and the plaza as planned. Before the mimic could feel any more anger, the blue mimic stepped up and gave it a helpful, innocent smile.

"Well...if it helps, you can start a new life here, if you'd like?" it offered kindly. The green mimic nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, you ain't gotta worry about humans or all that junk here!" it assured. The pink mimic blinked, stunned beyond disblief.

"R-Really?" it gasped. The blue mimic beamed.

"Absolutely. Why don't you join us for a drink? Maybe you can talk more about this old world of yours to us?" invited the blue mimic nicely.

The pink mimic was wide-eyed and almost-delightfully surprised by all this; could this be a chance to start a new life without dealing with any Lakewood heroes ever again. It really did seem like a dream to the mimic, but as far as it was concerned, the mimic didn't care a bit.

"...S-Sure...why not?" answered the pink mimic softly, still overcome with shock and subdued elation. And with that, the pink mimic soon followed its new allies across the grassy fields to join them for a drink and a chat. However, as they trekked along the way, the pink mimic couldn't help but to think about something troubling its confused state of mind.

Why would Gary send it to a world like this in the first place? After all the damage (whether physical, mental, or collateral) it caused to the plaza and its patrons, why would the dimension that the wizard would send the mimic off to be a world like this? To the mimic, this seems like pure paradise; no troublesome humans or goody-two-shoes heroes or anything. If anything, the mimic deserved to rot in some hellish, burning landscape instead.

Unless...if this was Gary's idea of sparing the mimic? As a means to ensure that everyone deserves a second chance at something. Although the mimic still wasn't willing to be a hero like K.O. hoped, maybe living in this new world can give the mimic a new chance to start life anew, with new friends and no worries on its shoulders.

"Hmm...if that's the case, maybe that wizard wasn't _so_ bad after all…" it mused softly to itself as it followed the other pair of mimics down the lane, a tiny and faint smile creeping up on its face. And for the first time in a long time, that smile was actually genuine and hopeful, rather than malicious and devious.

And with that, the mimic headed off with its newest companions to begin life anew. Although the mimic would be mourning the loss of its old friends, the mimic would also begin the process of slowly cherishing the company of its new friends as well; the company of friends that the mimic preferred to be with.

* * *

In the darkest depths of the bodega's stockroom, Gary had already arrived at his usual perch where he normally kept watch for any other stockroom-dwelling monsters, taking one final look within the pages of his spell book. There, he spied the exact transportation spell he used on the mimic to send it away from their world.

Next, Gary flipped over to the next page, which had a long list of different dimensions that Gary could've sent the mimic away to. There were many worlds to choose from: medieval-themed worlds, futuristic worlds, animalistic worlds, worlds that housed regular humans with no superpowers, worlds with aliens, worlds with robots, you name it. And there just happened to have the inscription for the mimic world that Gary had opened earlier, as well.

"**DIMENSION 06-18-84: Mimic Dimension - a world habited only by mimics.**"

Any other cynical wizard could've easily sent the mimic off to a much more harmful dimension or world, like the Sun, or a frozen wasteland of a planet, but Gary knew that, in spite of the mimic's nasty, villainous demeanor, the mimic just simply wasn't happy with this world that it was stuck in. So, rather than send the mimic off to receive even more punishment, Gary, being the noble wizard he was, found it simply best to not let the mimic suffer any longer, letting the mimic to just frolic away in its new home, where it could make new friends and not worry about having its home become disturbed once again.

Plus, the mimic dimension was lightyears away from Gary's own world, so there'd be no chance that the mimic could return again to cause any more havoc. By now, Gary was just happy that the plaza was slowly returning back to normal.

Gary smiled wistfully, gazing at the page with a small, weary smile. "Enjoy your new life, mate...hope the mimic dimension treats you better than our world has…" he said softly.

Gary closed the book shut and placed it back on one of the shelves behind him, letting out a sigh as he recapped today's events in his mind, reflecting on the chaos that has occurred throughout the whole day. With his spell book carefully stored away, Gary continued on with safeguarding the maze-like and mysterious stockrooms of Mr. Gar's Bodega as usual, like he always tended to do every day and night.

Yes, indeed, today was one of Lakewood Plaza's most craziest days yet.

**THE END**

* * *

**And so, after barely a year of progress, I am happy to say that "Doppelgangers Among Us" is fully complete!**

**Gonna be honest, this was indeed a fun story to write. At first, this story was low-key meant to be shorter in length, but after I sprang up the idea of being like, "Hey, what if I included T.K.O. and Gary into this story as well?", then that's when the plot bunny had fully revealed itself.**

**Incorporating plenty of the show's characters together was an overall blast, from having some the Lakewood Plaza heroes thrown into the plot as minor characters (such as Joff, Nick Army, Chameleon Jr., Mr. Logic, and Ms. Mummy amongst others, whom I really don't write about enough as of now), as well as having T.K.O. debut in this story as my first attempt at writing for him. **

**The biggest contender for using under-utilized characters would be Gary, the guardian who protects the stockroom of the bodega. I sort-of expanded his character a bit, seeing as he only appeared in one episode for like, twelve seconds, whereas I decided to give him wizardly powers, like spell-conjuring and all that magical jazz, as to make him on par with the other plaza heroes and their own unique and crazy abilities. Though, I still tried to mesh his personality from the show into this new addition of his character as well, making him chummy and calm, but civil and upstanding when trying to protect his friends / home. Plus, simply killing off the mimic in the end seemed too harsh for me, so I decided to have Gary send it to a world solely populated by mimics instead, to give the mimic a bit of a more happier ending.**

**I'll be working on other stories for the time being, including "The ABC's of Kendy" and a few other stories in the meantime, since I am now on a leave of absence due to the current virus pandemic causing the casino (my place of work) to close down for two weeks, which means I can have time to relax and work on my other stories.**

**Until then, thank you so much for reading, favoriting, and following this story, and I'll see you all very soon with another installment for "ABC's of Kendy" later this month. So, be sure to stay safe, stay calm, wash your hands, and be careful out there, everyone! ^-^**

**~Thunderbyrd**


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